


Rebel Without A Cause

by BlackbatRevolution



Series: The Complete Cranscott AU Saga [6]
Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Absolutely No Period Typical Racism, Alternate Universe - 1950s, Historical Inaccuracy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-02-26 01:56:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18714175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackbatRevolution/pseuds/BlackbatRevolution
Summary: After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jason Scott is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Scott forms an immediate bond with a weird classmate, Billy Cranston, and tries to befriend local girl Kimberly Ann Hart. However, Kimberly is the target of a bullying campaign by a neighborhood tough gang. When their leader violently confronts Jason and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.





	1. Police Station Scene

 

 

****A Waste.** **

It is a night like any other in the sleepy fishing hamlet of Angel Grove, a little chilly but a California kind of chilly. A disheveled young man is hauled into the police station by two beat cops, and presented to a senior officer. He’s completely out of it.

“What’s his deal?” The desk jockey asked, face buried in a file.    
  
“Public intoxication Sir,” The cop answered.

“That all? Busy night for quota filling Johnson.”

“ _He’s a minor_.”

The desk jockey looked up from his ledger, to see a young man, fair of hair, red-faced and smiling a lopsided smile like it was his birthday and was about to get a big present. He was wasted or high or both. __Pitiful,__  the man thought.

“What’s your name Son?” Sir adjusted his glasses, and narrowed his gaze to intimated him.

It didn’t work. The young man chuckled lazily, leaning onto the officer to stay on his feet. “Jason…” He said it as if he were telling a punchline to a joke.

“No last name?”

That took some thought. So buzzed he had forgotten his last name briefly. “Scott.”

The cop shook his head in disappointment. “Just search Mr. Jason and call his parents, we aren’t babysitters Johnson.”

“Aye Sir.”

As the officer patted Jason down, (searching him for weapons or any other contraband), he succumb to a fit of giggling. He was highly ticklish. When posted against a nearby wall he almost toppled over. __What a mes__ s. __What a waste.__ The men (and a couple women) in the police station looked on disapprovingly. Jason didn’t much care, because again he was completely out of it, living his life the best way he saw fit.

In his stupor he took to staring at various oddities in the police station for far too long. He was amused by a little pink umbrella in the umbrella rack with all the bigger darker adult umbrellas. It was so small. A  pretty crying girl that was being led away by her parents, and hell she was decked out in a pink overcoat too. A different shade but still. It looked so off in this muted place. And lastly he found himself staring at a guy, who was made to sit down on a bench by a cop. He was as young as Jason, maybe a year younger, covered in scrapes and soaking wet. Why was he wet? It had been dry and hot all day.

Him being all scraped up and wet isn’t even what made him look out of place to Jason. It was his face. His petrified face. He had this round face and wide eyes that made it hard to imagine him doing anything wrong, not on purpose. He was the only one in this place that could manage to look guileless, even the crying girl looked guilty as hell. And cops were naturally guilty. But him, he was definitely innocent. He didn’t belong here.

Water dripped down the side of his face and he shivered. He was cold. Of course he would be cold, forced to sit soaking wet, in an air conditioned building. He’s going to get sick. Pneumonia probably. __I should give him my Jacket__ , Jason thought.

Jason slipped off his favorite red jacket and walked over to guy in the wet blue cardigan. “You look cold, want my jacket?” Jason slurred, brandishing his red leather jacket.

Cardigan guy didn’t even answer. Staring up at Jason with his big questioning eyes, he looked dismayed by the gesture, and a little confused. Didn’t he understand? Didn’t he speak English? He looked so very cold. “Take my jacket,” Jason could feel himself becoming belligerent that the guy didn’t want to take his damn jacket. “TAK-

Luckily he was interrupted before he made more of a fool of himself.

“William Ronald Cranston!” A woman, presumably his mother, on account of her being the same shade and having the same wide eyes, trekked across the room and hoisted up by his arm. “What were you thinking! What are you doing in a place like this?” Her anger did not hide how terrified she was, as terrified or even more so than he was. She didn’t even take notice of Jason standing right there. He was just some gawking stranger.

The disappointment in her voice clearly affected him. “Mom…” He spoke, as if he was about to cry. “I’m so sorry…” He spoke for the first time, and his voice sounded kinda southern.

Jason liked it, he wanted to comment on it. “Hey-”

The door to an office abruptly opened. “Right this way Mrs. Cranston,”A police summoned ‘William’ and his mother went inside. Jason watched as the woman hauled him up by his arm and dragged him behind her. A mother wolf, taking her cub by his scruff. Jason watched as they disappeared behind the door.

Well he didn’t disappear per say, the office windows and door were transparent glass. He glimpsed him one last time before he was made to sit down and face the officer. Jason raised the jacket to him just before, because somewhere in his drunk mind he still thought he might accept the jacket. __He looked so cold__.

 

****A weirdo.****  

Inside the office ‘William’ sat in a low chair, while his mother hovered over him and a run of the mill police officer (a middle aged white man) stared him down. He could see his mother was trying not to tremble, and in her nervousness, she paced and talked frantically. Filling in for him. Filling in the silence. Trying to save her son from having a record.

“He isn’t usually like this, it’s his first offense, he’s never done anything like this and I know he’s sorry. I’ll make him sorry, he’s grounded for months!” Mrs. Cranston rambled. “Years even!”

The officer sighed, “William,” He looked at the fidgeting young man, and tried to adjust his tone for the unique situation of a good kid committing a serious offense. “I bet your friends call you Billy,” He said, lightening the mood. “William hardly fits.”

“We do,” Mrs. Cranston answered for him, accidentally counting herself among his friends. “We’ve always have.”

The officer shot the woman a glare. “I was talking to him Mrs.” 

That was enough for her. She nodded her head and became quiet. This obedient look didn’t suit her, she was used to being in charge when her son was around but the situation called for humbling herself. Just for the moment.

“Now Billy what were you doing in the mines?”

Billy didn’t answer, he skittishly looked everywhere but at the police officer’s face. He didn’t appear to be doing it purposely. He just couldn’t manage to face the intensity in the man’s eyes. He never held up well under any kind of scrutiny.

”Billy.”

Still no answer.

“Billy!” The officer was cross, he snapped his fingers to get Billy’s attention. “What’s wrong with you boy!”

“Don’t talk to him like that,” Mrs. Cranston said sharply. “He’s scared, he’s wet and he’s cold. It’ll take him a while to catch himself. Don’t worry he’s a good talker.” 

“I don’t have all night!” The officer barked at her. He had no patience for what he considered the ‘ dim & difficult’ types. Way above his pay grade. “Your son is in deep shit unless he can explain himself!”

Mrs. Cranston knelt down beside Billy. “Baby you’ve got to talk to the officer, we can’t handle trouble, __try for me okay__ …”

Billy looked at her, saw the concern and nodded. He really didn’t want to cause his mother any trouble. She didn’t work to get them a good place in the suburbs for him to be taken into custody like this. So he finally made eye contact with the police officer and said, “I’m sorry.”

The officer leaned over the desk. “I don’t need your sorry, I need an answer. Why were you at the mines at this kind of time?”  
  
“It’s my dad’s birthday.” 

Mrs. Cranston released an sympathetic sigh.

“Son, try to make some sense!”

It made complete sense in Billy’s head. And it surprised him when people couldn’t understand all that was inside his head. All his decisions had a logic to them. He wasn’t confused, they just didn’t get it. They didn’t get him. And didn’t even try. But he still made an attempt to elaborate, for his mother’s sake at least. “Whenever it’s dad’s birthday or my birthday, we’d go to the mines and dig,” He explained. “I know dad is dead and mom doesn’t like me going off by myself but I still want to go. We didn’t get to complete our misson-”

“What mission?” The officer asked suspiciously.

Billy leaned over the desk, meeting the officer half way. “There is something under the mountain, Dad knew it was there, and I believed him because Dad was always right, and when we would come close to these rock formations near the base of the mountain, our Geiger counter was going berserk!” Billy was beaming, and kept talking and going on and going on about his equipment results and his efforts that night. “so I kept digging, and digging and was getting closer but not closer enough, so I decided to use a little bit of C4-”

“C4!” The officer couldn’t hold back anymore, he exploded. “Where on earth did a teenager get C4!!!”

“Just a little bit. I got it from the garage….dad’s old gear”

Mrs. Cranston became light headed, having to press against the nearby wall to not faint. “It doesn’t matter how much Billy! Any amount of C4 is too much!”

“You could have killed yourself! Or caused big trouble for the miners!” Standing up, the officer towered over Billy and relentlessly berated him. “I can’t bring myself to comprehend why a teenager would go to the mines at night, and blow up the damn place! What were you thinking boy! Wanna grow up to be a weirdo!”

Avoiding the eyes of his disappointed mother and the furious expression of the officer, Billy hung his head down, eyes fixed on the circular lump in his pants pocket. Having this was worth it. Proof he wasn’t wasting his time. If no one else on the planet understood him, his father had.

“Are you not going to answer for yourself!”

 “I don’t know…” Billy murmured more to himself. “ _ _I guess I was lonely__.”

Silence filled the room as his words sunk in.  
  
Those words may have been what saved him from having a record. It incited sympathy and worse yet, __pity.__  Yes he trespassed onto private property and used C4 to cause property damage but no one got hurt (but him) and apparently the miners were going to destroy that mound anyway. So after a half an hour of Mrs. Cranston groveling, and Officer ‘Kelly” conceded to let Billy go with a warning that he was being he’s being watched. And any more repeat offenses will result in him going to juvenile detention.

“Talk to someone, before you go off and do something stupid like that again,” Officer Kelly said. “Hell come talk to me if you need a man to talk to.”

He knew just how to make a hardworking widow feel inadequate. Billy’s lack of a dad wasn’t all his problems. He was considered a weirdo well before his dad passed. And Billy was definitely going back to the mines again, but next time he won’t get caught. He could be sure of that.

 

**Just one day**

When leaving the police station Billy heard some commotion that drew his attention while he waited for his mother to bring the van around. There as a family of white people arguing, which made sense, anyone at the police station was there because of an established conflict. Billy had the home training to step further away from their spectacle, to give them space.

A stout man pushed his son up against the body of a red pickup. “you know who skips school to get drunk and high everyday Jason?” He asked a rhetorical question, and his son lazily shrugged. “ _ _Losers,__  burnouts, weirdos, that’s what you want to be Jason?” Jason shrugged his shoulders and chuckled real low. He wasn’t going to let his father ruin his buzz. His father scowled and it made him looked an awfully lot like that cop, red faced and furious. The face of authority, __the man__.

“Don’t call our son a Loser Sam!” The mother snapped, trying to pull her husband off.

The father folded his arms.“And what should I call him Beverly?”

She dismissed his baiting, turning to face her son.“I’m just saying don’t write him off, Jason’s going through a rough period, all teens do but at heart he’s is a good boy, he’s smart and talented.” 

Jason had sympathy for her, she still had all the faith that he could change for the better. Despite him proving her wrong countless time. Despite how he specifically got drunk on her fancy dinner party booze and his prescribed pain pills and started just wondering the town aimlessly, looking for trouble. Oh He needed badly to get out of that damn war zone they called a home, where they used him and his failings as ammunition against each other.

“He was talented, past tense Beverly, he gave up being talented the minute he nearly burnt down a school and wrecked his leg in the process!” Sam bellowed.

Jason openly flinched. Oh that hurt. Didn’t he promise he was going to let that go? Leave that in the past. In their old town. Old life.

“Sam keep your voice down!” Beverly warned, looking over to see Billy, who immediately looked away. It made him feel uncomfortably nosey but he couldn’t help listening in. They were really loud.

“I will do no such thing Beverly!” He said, gripping Jason by his collar and pulled him down to his height. “He did this to yourself, you ruined your future, and caused us to move here, away from a lot of opportunities in Stone Canyon and yet I can tell you blame us somehow. Blame us for the way you turned out. You ever thought to take responsibly for your actions? Huh?”

That armor piercing questions cracked through to Jason’s facade. The smile was wiped right off of Jason’s face. Violently yanking him out of his daze. From the maliciousness in his expression, Billy could see He did blame them to some degree. His suspicions were soon confirmed.

“Maybe if my parents weren’t always fighting I wouldn’t be so fucked up!” He yelled at them. “Or may if you didn’t force me to be someone I’m not! I am sick of being your golden boy! Sorry for being a waste, of time and money! But I peeked at the crystal ball dad. Had a good look at what being a high school quarterback will get me, a shit marriage and a shit job. And I don’t want it!”

Huffing and puffing, Jason finally released much of the tension that bad been building in him for a long time. Sam recognized this, he might not understand needing to be all drugged up but he could understand rage. He had a lot of it himself and always have. Seeing just how wretched and miserable his son is, Sam released Jason’s collar, and straightened up his shirt. His hand moved to cup Jason’s face, a lot more lovingly than his previous attempts at physical contact. It reminded Billy of his own father.

“Jason why are you doing this to us? __To yourself,__ ” He asked, in a sincere, gentle voice.

Jason slumped against the door of the truck, staring his father dead in the eyes. “I just want one day, where I didn’t feel confused…and didn’t feel ashamed of everything, and actually feel like I belong someplace…I wouldn’t have to do this…look for ways not to feel at all….”

Oh Billy understood that on some level, escapism as a concept, though he rather different methods. A book instead a bottle. An impossible mission to facing reality.

Sam shook his head, and pushing Jason away from the door so he could opened it. “Let’s just go home.”

Beverly and Sam rode in the truck, while Jason on the truck bed. Billy watched as the truck drove off, as his mother’s van pulled up. As the truck drove off Billy and Jason made eye connect again, and even in the darkness Jason recognized him and Jason waved. “Why didn’t you take my jacket!!” He whined at him, as if frustrated with Billy refusing to accept his offer. Of friendship? _Who knew_. 

_I don’t know you,_ Billy wanted to say, _I didn’t know you and I thought you were making fun of me, like people like you are prone to do_. Instead, he just returned the small wave but by then Jason was out of view. “Who was that?” Mrs. Cranston asked. “I saw him earlier.”

“Jason.” Billy said, remembering his name.

“Friend of yours from school?”

“I don’t know.”

“Looks like a delinquent to me, stay away from boys like him.”

_He won’t._

   



	2. Planetarium Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're all going through something. They're all the rebels.

 

****Jason’s morning** **

Next the morning Jason headed to Angel Grove High for the first time ever. He was supposed to go a few days ago but he kept skipping to drive to the beach and get a little high and waste a few hours till coming home. But all that happened the night before made him want to try again, maybe just once more, to be a little better for his family. So he sat through an awkward breakfast with his family, his mom pampering him with a big breakfast, Pearl chatty as ever and his father keeping him at a distance (face buried in a newspaper).

On his way out he kissed his little sister and mom, and waved bye to his dad, and promised to do better overall. Try to make some friends for a change, go to classes and be an average middle class teenager once again.“Today might be my day,” He said smiling. And oh boy did that make his mother happy.

The day started out pleasant enough. The sun was shining, and it was humid to all hell but he was protected from most of that by his trusty old pickup. On his drive to school, he spotted that same girl in the bright pink coat but sporting a shorter do. She was walking his way, most likely going to the same school as him. So he thought he’d pick her up, and give her a ride. Because that’s what good boys do. And today he was gonna be _ _real good__.

Unfortunately before he could pullover to her, he had to watch a convertible full of punks his age pass her on the road. The car slowed down just so three girls in the car can jeer and laugh at her. “Nice hair cut, still the same bitch in sheep’s clothing!” A blonde in a cheerleader outfit shouted. And the four boys, also crammed in the car laughed and threw eggs at her. In broad day light. Where Jason came from, treating a girl like that was off limits. These cats were a real piece of work.

She didn’t respond, just kept her head straight and cleaned whatever eggs landed on her skirt with a handkerchief. Jason recognizing her and feeling a little sorry for her, stopped beside her. “Want a ride?” He offered with a ‘good boy’ smile.

“What else, you’re gonna carry my books for me?” She sneered. She doesn’t even make proper eye contact with him.“I don’t take rides from strangers.”

“We’re not strangers, we met last night.”

She looked up at him, bewildered by what he said but there was definitely a twinkle of recognition.“You’ve got the wrong person,” She asserted, willfully.

“At the police station, you were crying…” He added for good measure. “I was in a bad way too-”

She glared at him, and said through gritted teeth. One could see her anger was misplaced, and she wasn’t about to accept his offer. “I said you’ve got the wrong person, scram!”

Jason nodded and drove off. The good boy thing wasn’t working out for him. Who said small town folks were friendly.

 

****Billy’s morning.** **

After a night of being lectured by his mother, it wasn’t all that surprising that Billy woke up a little late and had to hustle and bustle to get ready in time to make it to school on time. And to make matter’s worse his mother wouldn’t let him skip breakfast. She never did. Routine and tradition was just as important to her as it was to him.

But upon arriving to his locker, winded and a little sweaty, he crossed path again with that Jason guy from the police station. There Billy was brushing his hair, looking the mirror of his locker when he saw __him__  being reflected, wondering around listlessly behind him. He wasn’t drunk anymore, his clothes were neat and hair meticulously done but he still looked just as lost and a lot more meek.

He nearly wondered into the girl’s room before he caught himself. He could use a little direction. And Billy thought he could be the one to give him some. _Direction_ that is.

.

So a few hours later when he came stumbling into the planetarium, late to the field-trip presentation, and decided to sit right in front of Billy, of all people, Billy decided it was fate bringing them together again. Either that or otherworldly forces. Something Billy has been believing in, more and more recently.

“Hiya, I think we’ve met,” Billy leaned over and whispered into Jason’s ear.

Gratefully, Jason wasn’t all that surprised. “I thought everyone in Angel Grove had bad memories,” He said, directing his verbal jab  at the girl in pink who sat two chairs in front of him.

“Not me,” Billy said. “My memory is great. I can remember just about anything I heard or read.” He wasn’t bragging, it was the plain truth.

“I can imagine.” Jason chuckled. The smile was wiped off his face when he saw that the same gang of bullies were tossing popcorn back at the girl in the pink coat. Why the hell won’t they let up. “Jerks.”

“Is that what you guys do for fun around here?” He said pointing to the giggling bullies. “Give chicks a hard time.”

“They do, real wheels,” Billy groaned, stooping lower in his seat to avoid their line of sight.“But the rest of us have Ernie’s diner…and bowling ally.” He gripped the circular lump in his pocket. “I can take you somewhere cooler than that, but its secret, so it has to be just the two of us.”

Goosebumps formed on the back of Jason’s neck. That proposition sounded odd coming from a sweet guy like him. “Just the two of us?” Jason asked, voiced honeyed. He was lost on whether this guy was a trap set by someone to lure him ‘out’ or he really didn’t understand all that he was implying and really was just a square looking for a friend, to read comics in his tree house.

 “Yeah, after this trip is over we could go where ever you like,” Jason wasn’t gonna pass up an ambiguous offer. Someone shushed them, so Jason was forced to lower his voice and be more subtle. He didn’t want the trouble of someone picking up what was being put down.

Today was going to be a good day. He watched as The narration layered over the circular display of the universe become more dramatic and intense. “Now that is where I wanna go, _there is where I belong_.”

“Where?” Billy asked, looking up at the display of planets and constellations. 

“In space,” He sighed in amazement. “Quiet, peaceful, can’t get in much trouble in space.”

“You interested in space, and all that alien stuff. Straight outta the science fiction pulp novels?”

“Who wouldn’t be.”

Billy smiled, thrilled to have a lot more in common with him than would be expected. It prompted him to lean just a little closer and maybe share something with him. Something we’d been keeping a secret for a while. “Well I-”

 ** **Narration:**** “AND THE WORLD COMES TO AN END, the same way it began.” A loud crash is heard over head, a large explosion followed by flashing lights of blue and red. A image of the earth explodes. And is swallowed by a swirling vortex of red. Jason is transfixed by the destruction.”

 ** **Narration:****  “To the infinite reaches of space, the problems of man seems insignificant indeed. Our lives are all episodes of little consequence. That is all, _thank you very much_.” 

The lights are turned on and a teacher began to usher the students out of the room as orderly and quickly as possible. Jason watched as the others exited, as the girl in pink exited, along with a bunch of the laughing bullies, trailing behind her. Were our problems really that insignificant? Because they sure didn’t feel that way.

Who Jason didn’t see was ‘William’. He couldn’t have passed him without him noticing, could he? __I thought we had ‘secret’ plans__ , Jason thought. Then he saw the top of Billy’s head, he was cowering behind Jason’s chair. “Hey. Hey. You okay?”

Billy slowly emerged, straightening his clothes. “I wasn’t afraid or anything, I just can’t handle flashing lights and loud noise sometimes.” He appeared nervous and uncomfortable like he was at the police station. At least he was dry this time.

“It’s cool, let’s head out,” Jason said, turning to leave, expecting Billy to follow behind. __Play it cool Scott__. “I’m Jason by the way, Jason Scott.”

“I know, I heard last night,” Billy eagerly trailed behind him. “I’m William, people call me all kinds of things but my friends can called me Billy.”

“Good to know, Billy,” Jason said, already counting himself among his friends. That elicited a flustered smile from Billy. On his way out he spotted the girl in the pink, she was being cornered by the same group of punks that bothered her this morning and during the presentation. “Who is she?”

“Oh that’s Kimberly Ann hart?” Billy grimaced, as he watched two girls knocked her books out of her hands. Something he was very familiar with. “She used to be one of them, a punk, I don’t know what happened.”

Jason scowled, clenching his fist. “I do, they turned against her, I’ve personally seen it before.” He stalked off toward the bullying scene. “We gotta give a hand, ya know chivalry and all that jazz.”

“We?” Billy squeaked, clutching his chest. “What can I do?”

“Be a lookout!”Jason flashed him a smile, before running off. And Billy did, maintaining a good distance between whatever the hell Jason was going to do. His mother’s label of ‘delinquent’ was making a whole lot of sense now. It was as if he was running into battle.  


Jason breached the crowd of punks, and picked Kimberly’s books off the floor. He handed them back to her. Kimberly looked peeved, “What are you doing?”

“I just thought you’d like your books back ma’am,” He said, smiling at her, ignoring the group crowding around them. “Maybe a ride home, with me and Billy over there.” Billy ducked his head when he pointed in his direction.

“This one’s cute,” One of the guys said, eliciting laughter. “A real comedian.”

Kimberly looked more than annoyed now, she was worried, for him. His safety was in jeopardy associating with her on his first day. She didn’t want him to get involved in all this. “This has nothing to do with you,” she said, backing away from him.

“Don’t you hear the girl,” The biggest guy (obvious leader) said, having the build of a linebacker and sporting a Letterman’s jacket. “You don’t want trouble.”

Oh wrong he was. Jason wanted trouble. He craved trouble. Whether he’d admit it to himself or not. It less about Kimberly and more about Jason’s fixation with playing hero. Him helping Kimberly against her wishes, is reminiscent of him begging Billy to take his jacket and let him help. He needed to help, to feel useful to somebody, anybody.

Billy admired this feature of his personality, but also felt it was stupidly reckless and had every intention to stay out of the way. Hiding behind a pillar and keeping an eye out as Jason asked. Nothing else.

“Why don’t you give her a break?” Jason asked, facing down the gang. “Isn’t the bully thing cliched?”

“Mind your own business new kid,” The leader said, pushing his finger into the center of Jason’s chest. It was a real scotching day in Angel Grove, added to the tensions. __Keep your cool Scott.__  

A blonde cheerleader stepped forward, clinging to the big linebacker. “Ty’s right, you know. You’re new, so you don’t even know what she did do you? She earned whatever she’s getting,” She stated, glaring at Kimberly. 

“She tried to ruin Amanda’s life,” A tall girl in a green leather jacket, stepped forward. “So fair is fair, we’re ruining hers.”

And the look of utter remorse that Kimberly tried concealed as she turned her back to the gang convinced him they weren’t lying. Oh she had done the crime. He had the same look a while back. But to him, picking on her like this, victimizing her, didn’t make the situation any better. It at least made it so that it was hard to ignore. Especially with his tragic hero complex.

Swatting Ty’s hand away from his chest, Jason narrowed his eyes at them. “I don’t know whatever history happened here, but what I see is a bunch of you punks picking on a chick that isn’t fighting back. And no way is that fair,” Jason argued, staunchly supporting a girl he didn’t know.

Ty and his gang laughed. They looked Jason up and down, like he had told a joke. “If you’re going to involve yourself in this, might as well take on her punishment huh super boy. Tommy get her, Bulk, Skull and Colt, let’s give him a real Angel Grove welcome…”

“Gotta it boss!” They shouted in union.

 

Before Jason had a chance to react, Ty took advantage of a perceived weakness and kicked Jason in the chins; causing him to collapse onto the ground. Cheating bastard. And as if on the football field, a whole lot of the boys piled onto Jason, wailing on him.

“Look what you did!” Kimberly groaned, diving into the pile; attempting to push the boys off of Jason. The other girls didn’t like her helping and started antagonizing her and pulling at her hair. She received a strong yank, from Tommy, which knocked her off her feet.

Jason fought back as well as he could, but the boys kept him pined on the ground. This would have been the first time he’d been on this end of a scuffle but first times for everything. They beat the shit outta him, punching and stomping him. Maybe a little karmic justice for his numbskull jock days.

Then out of nowhere he was thrown a lifeline. Going against his grain, and all that his mother taught him. Billy dove into the pile and pulled Jason out of it, hauling him to his feet. In return the gang turned on Billy, throwing him to the ground. He curled up in a ball instinctively to protect his vital organs. 

Sturdy on his feet, Jason wasn’t going to let them pummel his new friends. Attacking the lot of them with a flurry of furious punches and jabs in soft areas. Oh he felt alive. This was what he was made for. And like him, Kimberly was making quick work of most girls but was still having trouble with the powerful Tommy. In the end, Jason was all bruised up and covered in cuts but he griped Ty by the collar of his shirt. “Back off!” He warned through gritted teeth.

“We’ll do whatever the hell we want!” Ty said, spitting at Jason.

It was just a simple fight. Kids beings Kids. Until skull tossed Ty a switchblade. Which he used to scrape at Jason’s side. Things got real, they got dead serious in that moment. Jason backed away. Stumbling slightly as he pulled Billy to his feet and away from these fucking psychos. 

“You need to be taught a lesson,” Ty asserted. 

“Then we fight one on one,” Jason said, drawing near to Kimberly and Billy. “We don’t need to bring weapons into this!”

Ty laughed, and started to approached Jason brandishing the blade. He was having a blast frightening them. “Why? can’t you-”

“What are you kids still doing here!” A security guard shouted running out of the planetarium. He must have been on his break or something. He missed a lot. He put his Walkie Talkie to his lips and began radioing the fuzz about a __youthful disturbance__.

Ty’s gang got one look at the rented cop and started bolting towards their car. The getaway flip-top. It was reasonable to think most of them had prior offenses and wouldn’t easily get a pardon.“This ain’t done, If you ain’t chicken meet us at the base of Gold mountain at 9, and we’ll settle this without weapons if you like, just pure skill…” Ty said, grinning.

“And if I don’t show up?” Jason asked, being brave but never one to walk into an blatant trap.

Ty pointed to Kimberly and Billy behind him. “If you decided to skip out on us, those two will catch hell for the rest of the school year. They’d be our playthings.”

Jason took one glance back at Billy and Kimberly, two sweet faced kids who were now winded, beaten up and disheveled because of his reckless actions. “Fine, meet you there,” He conceded, “But if I win, you stay the hell away from them, for the rest of your pathetic life.”

“Aren’t we dramatic,” He laughed, climbing into the convertible that swung around to meet him. “It’s a deal, drag race, at the mountain, 9o’clock.”

“deal,” Jason agreed. Accepting the options presented as his only options. 

And just like that, everyone in the convertible hooted and hollered, and drove off down the road. Leaving a fog of dust and dirt in their wake. So this was small town life. Big fishes in a small pond, so dying to do something significant that just wound up with them trying to kill each other for petty grievances.

 

Jason walked over to his truck and opened the door. “You guys okay? Let me drive you to the clinic or home?” He asked, over come with guilt when he saw Billy limping towards him.

Kimberly walked up to Jason and swatted him on his head. “I told you to stay away from me, I’m not interested!”  She still had her guard up, and wasn't easily letting it down.  
  
Jason chuckled, and brushed some dirt out of her hair. “My interest in you isn’t what you think.” 

Kimberly scoffed, and pushed his hand away. “So you’re just a noble guy huh? A white knight? No ulterior motives. __Get real__ …”

“I don’t know about noble…”

There was a brief silence as they both caught their breaths. “Thank you,” She finally said, having had time to think on all that happened. “But I didn’t need your help, look what you got yourself into.”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t care less.” And he didn’t have much in the way of self preservation.

But seeing Billy, a good guy, made worse by his own meddling, got her point home. Billy had to lean against the truck to not topple over. And will probably catch hell from his helicopter mother when he got home. “You went and made Billy a target,” Kimberly emphasized, still climbing into the truck. Her dignity wasn’t worth walking home while aching all over. “How about that hero?”

“You okay Billy,” Jason asked, dropping his mask of cool indifference with Kimberly out of earshot. “ _ _I’m sorry__.”

Billy managed a smile, “I’m fine Jason.” He winced when he tried to move his arm. He was a bad liar. “Okay well so I’m not fine, everything hurts really bad and I may have a concussion but none of that is your fault Jason. You didn’t do it.” He was really trying out this being brave and taking risk thing.

Jason brushed a bit of dirt off Billy’s forehead. He had a nasty scrap there, it was bleeding. It just made him feel awful. Like how hurting his mother made him feel awful. He had a pension for hurting people who believed in the hype of Jason Scott. “I think I’m bad news for you Billy, maybe you should choose __better friends__.” 

Bumping his shoulder into Jason’s, Billy said. “You don’t get to make that choice for me.” 

Jason rolled his eyes. “I think I get to choose my own friends though, I rather friends whose life I won’t ruin.”

“I’ve been ruining my own life pretty darn well on my own,” Billy said with a wide grin, as if that’s an accomplishment. “I was in that police station too ya know, probably on worse charges than you. I could be bad news too!”

Jason grabbed Billy’s hand and led him into the truck. “I can’t imagine you bringing any bad into my life.”

And boy did that shut Billy up. That’s the sweetest thing anyone had said to him in a long time. He didn’t have a clever answer for that at all. Didn’t say a word. Just gazed at Jason with reverence one would give a shooting star on a dark night. Or a rain drop during a drought.  


 


	3. The "Chickie Run." Scene  (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you've seen the movie....

****Ride Home.** **

Jason dropped off Kimberly first. She lived in a real well to do neighborhood and her house was sizable. She stepped out of the  truck, and looked back on Jason. “Can I convinced you to not go tonight?”

”If you can convince me this Ty will leave you and Billy alone if I do?” He said, laying a lot at her feet. 

She didn’t answer his question, but he took her silence as answer enough.“This is serious business.”

He smiled.“Anything for a friend.”

Kimberly flipped him the bird and walked away.“We __aren’t__ friends.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Jason yelled as he drove out of her drive way. They both waited in road car until she was safely inside.

 

Billy was the next to be dropped off. The Cranstons had a decent place in the an adjacent  community. It was around five o’clock, and still light out. There wasn’t a van in the driveway so there must not have been anyone home. Reluctantly Billy stepped out of the truck,“I guess I’m here, see you later.” 

Billy turned to walk towards the house but Jason called him back. “Billy?” 

“Yeah Jason?” Billy asked expectantly.

“Don’t come tonight,” Jason ordered plainly. He was trying his best to come off as cold and unfeeling.

That took Billy off guard, but he didn’t back down. “ _ _I’m going__.”

“I won’t pick you up.”

“I’ll bike there.”

“You’re really persistent.”

Billy smiled, that thousand watt smile that said he hadn’t given up on the world just quite yet. “I just think we can help each other.”

“You can help me?” Jason’s eyebrows rose in skepticism. 

Leaning into the truck, Billy met Jason’s eyes. His were determined and full of a unique spark. “I think I found something amazing, that I can’t keep to myself but I can’t just show to just anybody either. It has to be special people. Like you. It’s something that can give you a little purpose.”

“You wanna give me purpose?” Jason smirked, got ever closer to Billy. “ _Is that a come on_?”

Instinctively, Billy backed away.“Huh?”

At that sign of clear confusion Jason backed down. He wasn’t going to push it. “Never mind, just promise me no heroics tonight.”

It was Billy’s time to smirk, wave Jason off and turn his back to him as he walked away. “I’ll promise if you will!” 

Oh there is the kicker. Jason could never promise no heroics. So he shouldn’t expect Billy to do the same. The teen with a white savior complex couldn’t hog all of the heroics for himself. They could all be heroes. If they played their cards right.

  

****Billy’s.****

When Billy got inside, he locked the door and started dancing around the room. “I made a friends! I can show him my secret!” As he jumped about his side and stomach where he had been stomped on throbbed. He grabbed his side and limped over to the mirror in the hallway.

Oh boy he was looking rough. He had to go hide these bruises and scrapes before his mother got home. She wouldn’t handle him getting beat up just a few hours after being arrested. She’d throw a fit and locked in him the house for days if she had to. He’d miss Jason’s showdown.

But that didn’t deter him one bit. He’d wear a beanie to cover his the bandage he’s about to put on forehead and a bit of his mother’s makeup to cover the bruises. At a glance she wouldn’t notice right away and he could sneak out later that night and be back before she even thought to check in on him.

Tonight was special. He could feel it.  


****Kimberly’s.****

Kimberly’s parents were both home, which was odd because they were both doctors and if one wasn’t on call, the other definitely was. So we wrapped her coat tightly around herself to hide her bumps and bruises and some of the dirt on her white blouse.

To her luck, they both ignored the clacking footsteps on the wooden staircase. Their inattentiveness had never been more convenient for her.

She had to sort herself out and rest up before tonight. She was going to watch a guy she just met today race for her honor. Well she wasn’t sure about her honor but he was fighting because he just thought it was the right thing to do. Someone in the world considered her worthy of protection. 

As she collapsed into her bed, she thought; Was I truly worth it after what I did?

 

 ** **Jason’s.****  
“Is that blood?” Beverly gasped as Jason tried to slip pass her on the staircase to his room.

“It’s nothing.” Jason said, not stopping for to give her chance to notice he was bleeding out of a wound in his side.

She ran after him, grabbing onto the back of his jacket before he could lock himself in his room. “God I’m worried about you, What’s going on Jason. __Talk to me__.”

He froze on the top of the staircase. If this had been his dad he would have pushed him off and barricade his door but this was dear old mommy. Can’t hurt her more than he already had. “You wouldn’t understand mom,” He murmured

She pressed her hand to his back. “Is this a man thing? If you won’t talk to me, at least talk to your father.”

He huffed but considered it for a moment. He wasn’t going to actually tell his miserable old man about drag racing on a unknown mountain path tonight. But maybe he had some advise on how to deal with guys like Ty Fleming and how to protect the people he cared for, like a real man. “Where is he?” Jason asked.

“Just wait up,” She sounded so hopeful, “He went out for a drink with the guys from the docks.”

 _ _How hypocritical__. Jason tugged away from his mother. “I thought anyone who got drunk was a loser.”

“Jason! Don’t talk about your father that way!”

He slammed the door before his mother could push her way in. She was left outside beating on his door But it was futile, he had every intention to sleep off his aches and pains before the big event. Hopefully be out of the house before his old man got home.

And make it home before he came looking for him. Or just make it home at all.

 

 

 

 ** **Before The Race****  
At  twenty minutes to nine Jason made it to base of Gold mountain. One of a cluster of maintains and hills that surround the dig sites and mines. There had to be about sixty kids from Angel Grove high and a couple towns over that came to see some entertainment. Did they sell tickets to this thing?

High school kids traveled in packs, cliques and gangs. Eating, playing their radios and carrying on like this was a drive in. There was a bunch of kids but few of them were off by themselves like he was. He parked his truck and looked for a couple familiar faces. It didn’t take long for him to spot a bright blue cardigan and a pink coat side by side under a tree. Damn he was glad to see his new friends.

He ran over to them.

****Under The Tree** **

“How well do you know this guy Billy?” Kimberly asked, keeping an eye on Ty and his gang as they got a mechanic to check out two Junkyard cars to see if they are safe to drive. He wasn’t gonna drag race in his precious flip-top.

“I know him pretty well,” Billy bragged, grinning at her. “He’s my new best friend.”

“How new?” She asked. She personally only met him today.

“Met him last night.”

Kimberly groaned, slapping her palm against her face. “What’s he like?” She asked.

There was a wistfulness in Billy’s voice as he spoke. “I don’t know, you have to get to know him.” He braced against the tree, glancing directly up at the sky. “He’s a real stand up guy, sincerely looks out for others. He’s special.”

Kimberly saw the admiration in Billy’s eyes (even in the dim light of all the cars) and heard the gentleness in his voice. Oh she knew that look. “He’s got you huh? Hook line and sinker,” She commented, with a small smile.

Billy pretended not to know what she was talking about and even tried to suppress how flustered it made him. Despite this being one of his rare moments of full clarity in a socially ambiguous situation. He didn’t want to set himself up for disappointment.

And as if sensing that he was being discussed, Jason manifested out of nowhere. “Kimberly, Billy, __Hey.__ ” He breathed.

“Hey,” Billy breathed back, bubbling over with excitement. Kimberly didn’t speak, she just let the scene play out. With an air of knowing about her.

“You came,” He couldn’t hide his joy that Billy was here to support him. It gave him the pride that having cheerleaders rooting for him on the sidelines of games never did.

“I know you didn’t want me here but I’m staying Jason, I am, and I’m helping in anyway I can!” Billy was adamant and determined. It was clear in his eyes.

“You aren’t scared?” Jason asked, still trying his hand at convincing Billy.

“Oh I’m terrified, but I kinda always am, I think I’m trembling, do you see me trembling?” Billy held his shaking hand up to Jason’s face.

Jason chuckled, and held Billy’s hand, pressing his against Billy’s. “You’re trembling and I’ve got goosebumps.”

Bewildered, Billy stared at their hands touching before quickly pulling his hand away. The suddenness of the action took Jason off guard, and embarrassed him. His bold move was shot down. _Harsh!_ He must have miss read a signal somewhere along the way.  _I'm never making the first move again!_

And he didn’t have much of a response, other than pulling his hand back and nonchalantly slipping his fingers through his hair. He swallowed down any bitterness.

 _ _Smooth recovery.__ Kimberly was forced to see this awkward train wreck happen and decided to intervene, saving them from themselves. “I know where Ty is,” She said, leading Jason away. “If you’re gonna do this, do it right at least.”

****The deal** **

While they walked over to Ty and his gang, Kimberly explained what they were expecting Jason to do (while Billy followed closely). It was something she was very familiar with, and participated in before her shunning. The skinny was that there was a hair-pinned road wrapping around the mountain that leads to the very top and back down again. The teens of Angel Grove have been racing it for decades, because there is very little to do in a town where nothing happened.

Pretty simple enough, except racing it is illegal, because the road, also called Gold road, was very thin, winding and bordered by the sea on one side and by rocky mountainous terrain on the other. __It wasn’t made to be raced on__. It wasn’t made to be raced on by vindictive teenagers wanting to settle a score. But looking up at stunt a guy like him would do. For thrills. To prove himself. To help someone. You name it.

“The guy who wins most, if not all the races rules our school and rules that gang,” Kimberly summarized, not skirting about the main point. “And Ty just happened to be that guy, he’s won every race he’s ever been in.”

“So my chances are?” Jason asked, watching Ty examining under the hood of the car.

“Oh very __Slim.__ ”

"Any advice?"

"Hug the curves, take the risk and pray she likes you."

 _What useful advice_. Jason laughed, and Kimberly couldn't hide a smile. She was just telling him what was told to her. 

Billy stood beside Jason, giving him an awkward pat on the shoulder. “I believe in you __Jason.__ ”

Jason flashed him a winning smile as he walked backwards over to Ty and the cars. “And that’s all I need isn’t it? One person who believes in me.”

Billy couldn’t stop grinning. 

“One person who believes in you and one person who decided they would mind if you choked,” Kimberly added, grinning too. 

“You’re too sweet.” Jason saluted her, masking the pain he felt in his knee. He ached for pills, but knew he had to be sober for this. Sober in body but whether he was sober-minded was arguable.

 

****What _Had_ To Happen.** **

****** **

 

“Well if it isn’t pretty boy,” Ty said, as if it was an insult. "Thought your candy ass would _puss out_."

Jason wanted to comment that he’s actually better looking than Jason, with his naturally tan skin, shiny black hair and full lips but he didn’t think pointing that out would go over well with the other guys. So instead he raked his fingers through his hair, and leaned his weight against his good leg. “Which one is mine?”

The mechanic slammed down the hood of one of the cars. “I’ll flip a coin,” He said, sporting a wolfish smile. “…As an impartial party.”

Jason’s eyebrow rose. “And you are?”

“ _ _Zack__ , Zack Taylor,” He clapped his gloved hand together, offering Jason his hand to shake. “You must really be new around here if you don’t know me. I repair, restore and provided the rides for races…don’t worry, no loyalties, I’m just in it for the money.”

"Jason Scott." Jason shook his hand. “And I didn’t give you any money.” 

“You don’t need to, __they do__.” He pointed back at the nearly a hundred teens and young adults spectators all geared up to watch this spectacle. Again, what else are they going to do. “I’m community funded,” He added with a smirk.

Jason nodded his head, gearing up for the stunt. He was going to be watched, like at a football game, and like a football game, he didn’t just need to win. He needed to put on a show. “Flip away.”

“For Blondie,” Zack shouted, flipped the coin, but covered the results with his other hand. “Heads green impala and tails red Camaro, Fair enough?”

Jason and Ty shook their heads. Zack removed his hand, and called it. It came up tails. “Blondie gets red, and Fleming gets green.”

__“Got it.”_ _

__“Cool.”__  Ty whistled, summoning one of his goons, that Tommy girl and the three punks Bulk, Skull and Colt. “Keep an eye on the prizes, make sure they don’t run off after I win.” He meant Kimberly and Billy, who were watching on the sidelines, their fingers crossed. “I have plans for them later.”

Tommy and those two guys cackled like hyenas, and honed in on the two, skillfully surrounding them. They were being held for ransom. Jason gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist, reminding himself this was just another tactic to riled him up and exploit this weakness, like him kicking his bum leg during the fight.

There weren’t any arguments there, Jason and Ty ran over to their respective cars. Their cars were positioned at the very foot of the mountain, just a couple inches away from each other. Jason eyed the height of the mountain and the narrowness of the roads. “Why are we doing this again?” Jason called over to Ty.

“You’re funny, man. _I like you_ ,” Ty laughed, throwing his head back. Jason was reminded that this was all a game to him. “I wish you didn’t try to upset things Jason, if you just played by the rules, we coulda been friends.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah you’re one of us,” He said, complimenting Jason.

But Jason took it as an insult. He’d hoped he changed enough that guys like Ty didn’t recognize him. But the alpha male, golden boy stink must not have been fully washed off yet. And Ty’s aggression, leadership capabilities, and love of action really did come off as familiar. Too familiar.

Jason revved his engine, looking out of the passenger window over to Ty. Ty revved his engine in response. Jason firmly gripped the wheel and Ty did the same. This was it.

A horn went off and the two cars zoomed off in the same direction, in that single nanosecond.

“You’re wrong about me.” was all Jason was thinking, as he sped down the road, neck and neck with Ty. “You’re wrong about me and I’m going to prove it.”  
  



	4. The 'Chickie run' Scene  (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Buzz.

 

****The Race.** **

Midway into the race, things weren’t going as well as Jason would have hoped. Ty Fleming was as good as Kimberly said he was. He steered around the bends and curves as any pro would, handling the old impala like it was an extension of his body. His familiarity with the road gave him a leg up.

No matter how much Jason pressed on the acceleration and caught up with him briefly, whenever a curve or turn came up, he’d have to slow down or he’d swerve off the road and in the goddamn sea. While his opponent didn’t have those worries. He hugged the road and swung around the curves expertly.

Ty was going to win. He was going to win if Jason didn’t start taking a chance. Getting even more reckless with his turns. Hugging the road and praying he didn’t loose his grip and swerve.

He had to do it. For his friends. For his pride. Just to know he’d done something incredible.

Wind in his face, Jason slammed on the accelerator and flew around the turn at a speed that would give the road runner a run for his money. He bit his lip, kept his eyes fixed on Ty’s car. No thing good would come from focusing on just how damn close his car was getting to the side of the road.

So close. He was close to the edge and very close to overtaking.

Maybe just may, he was going to do it. He was going to pass Ty.

 _ _Oh God.__  As they neared the top of the mountain, something _ _catastrophic happened.__

 _ _The road__. The road in front of Ty’s car, lifted up in a wave, like the wave in the sea. Rough and chaotic. Jason slammed on the brake, stopping from going any further. But Ty didn’t have that chance. Before he could break, the force of the earthquake pushed his car back, causing it to swerve off the road.

A shrill scream erupted from the car.

His car went careening off the edge of the road, and down into the sea. Onto the jagged rocks below. Jason opened the door of his car and leaped out to see what had happened to him. That  very second was when the car exploded. The green impala blew up and burst into flames upon impact.

“Oh Fuck!”Jason screamed, eyes wide and filled with terror. What the hell was happening? How could this happen?

He didn’t even get time to mourn his rival. The ground started the shake again. The earth wasn’t just trembling but the mounds that lifted out of the road were beginning to take shape. Take humanoid form. _ _Oh Fuck!__

Though shocked beyond comprehension, Jason jumped back into the car and started reversing. “Oh fuck! Oh Fuck! Oh fuck!” Running on adrenaline alone, he maneuvered the car around, until he was able to turn back where he came. He was getting the fuck out of there.

Looking back in the rare view mirror he saw huge hulking monsters made of rock. He didn’t need more reason to peel out of there. But they still gave him more reason, by running after him. Though their cement body weighted them down considerably, he wasn’t taking any chances.

Foot pressed firm to the gas, he sped forward, and away from the creatures. He conquered the winding roads, taking them in a way that would make Ty proud __or jealous__. Oh god he was dead wasn’t he? What the fuck was happening? And how was it happening here, i _ _n Angel Grove of all places.__

 

****** **

****Back At The Base** **

The explosion could be heard, and some of it’s flames seen from the base of the mountain. No one needed to be told what that meant. Somebody had crashed. The night had ended unceremoniously, in tragedy. Somebody was definitely dead or severely injured on the illegal they shouldn’t have been driving on. __Time to get out of there!__

It was cause for panic. Everyone scrambled to pile into their cars and on their bikes and started to drive away from the scene of the crime. Someone had been killed here! Killed! No close up gorey detail was worth going to prison for, for being involved in this. They were teens for god’s sake! Zack Taylor, who was eighteen and one of the main orchestrators of this event, would be one of the first people the cops would blame for the death hopped on his motorcycle and rode out of there.

“No! No! No!,” Kimberly cried, hand over her mouth. She doubled over, feeling physical pain. “Jason, oh my god, I should have stopped him!”

 “We don’t know anything yet!” Billy was begging her to not lose hope, attempting to pull her back to her feet. “One of them could just have crashed their car…oh okay that isn’t good either…what if…what if…” His heart was trying to gallop out of his chest, and his breathing labored.

No it couldn’t have happened. Jason couldn’t have gone over the edge! No no no! He clenched his fist and closed his eyes. He couldn’t have lost him before he ever really had him. That would be a cruel twist of fate.

“There isn’t any what ifs!” Tommy shouted, rallying the gang together into Ty’s car. “Your guy overplayed his hand and swerved off the cliff.” That wasn’t a bragging declaration. She wasn’t happy that Ty had won. She was terrified that a boy had lost his life today. They all were.

“We gotta get out here!” Skull ordered, revving up Ty’s convertible. Everyone one of their gang had always fit perfectly in the car. “I ain’t doing time.”

“Not without Ty!” Amanda was adamant, cling to Harper and Colt in the back seat. “When he comes we’ll get the hell out of here. Not before!”

All of them were certain Jason was the one whose car crashed off the cliff. Even Billy and Kimberly were whimpering and trembling, mourning for the boy they just met today. The boy who had just wanted to protect them. What a brutal way to go, on your first day of school.

The kind of tragedy that makes you infamous.

So when Jason’s red camaro came speeding down the mountain, it was simultaneously a great relief and the most heartbreaking moment any of them had every experienced.

 

The car skidded on the dirt road, before coming to a full stop. Ty’s gang all watched with their mouth gaped. It couldn’t be. But it was. Jason parked the car, and ran out of it, like a man on fire. And as he raced towards them, Billy raced towards him. They met half way, and unexpectedly, Billy tackled Jason, falling into his arms, holding him with so much desperate passion.

It took a lot of strength not to fall over. “You’re alive!” Billy hugged him ever tighter, Jason hugged him back, reflecting the feeling put into the hug. “You’re alive Jason! I knew it! I knew it!”

“God yes, barely but yes,” He sniffled into Billy’s shoulder. He didn’t have to make the first move this time around.

Tommy came running over to Jason. “Where the hell is Ty?” She foolishly held out hope that her friend was alive. When she saw the absolute grim expression on Jason’s face, she grew furious. “What did you do!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Jason argued, pointing frantically up the road “A monster slammed him off the road! Came after me too! A rock monster! We have to get out of here!”

The urgency in Jason’s voice was genuine enough but what he said was unbelievable for some. Unbelievable to Tommy who had zero reasons to believe such things and instead had faith in their fearless leader. Enraged, Tommy pushed Billy off and gripped Jason by his jacket. “And we’re suppose to believe that! What did you do? Did you run him off the road cause you were losing! That’s sick!”

Jason pushed Tommy off of him, backing away from her to put distance between them and to help Billy off of the ground. “What is wrong with you! I wouldn’t kill the guy to win a stupid race! We have to get out of here! Monsters are coming!!!”

With Jason’s help, Billy climbed back to his feet. He was the only one present that didn’t look at Jason like he was losing his mind. Even Kimberly couldn’t pretend to believe him. “I’ve seen things lately, a lot of strange things,” Billy admitted, still holding on to Jason. “I believe you!”

“I know you would.” Jason cupped Billy’s face, just basking in his genuineness and understanding. He felt safe with Billy. Despite running on shock and pain, the shock of realizing the world is a lot more complicated than his problems and the pain of realizing his own mortality, by witnessing the swift and unnecessarily death of a guy his age. He just wanted to melt into Billy, and hide from all of this.

Grabbing a hold of Jason’s hand, Kimberly pulled them towards the pick up truck. “Let’s go!” Kimberly ordered, taking charge of a situation she hardly understood. Someone needed to. “We’ll discuss this in the truck, far away from here.”

Tommy staggered on her feet. She was so confused and scared. They all were. She screamed, seething with rage. “We can’t let them get away with this! He sabotaged Ty I know it! There no way Ty would crash! And that bogus story!” She hit the hood of the convertible.

“Lets go after them and make him talk!”

“Tommy!” Skull shouted.

“What!” She shouted back. When Tommy turned around she saw Colt and Harper comforting a bawling Amanda. Her boyfriend just died. Revenge was the last thing on her mind. But Tommy was different. Tommy was used to losing people. Used to fighting through Trauma. But she had enough empathy to realize most people we’re like her. “Fine we’ll take the girls home, then we’ll go find them and make them pay!”

“Got it Boss!” They said instinctively. Before coming to terms with the fact that Ty was dead. There had to be a leader, the gang of numbskulls couldn’t operate autonomous. So Tommy stepped up.

The convertible took off down the road, passing Kimberly driving the truck. Even though she drove better and faster than Jason.“You’re __dead meat__!” Tommy shouted at them from the car, before speeding off down the road. _Absolute madness._

 

**The Escape**

That was worrying. What was worth, dumb angry teenagers or a possible rock monster. “We can’t go home tonight,” Kimberly said, heart pounding and sweaty palms gripping the steering wheel. “They know where we lived and __we can’t go to the cops__. Not unless were wanted to go to juvie…or plain old jail” 

“I can’t go home now, my mom can’t know, and they know where I live,” Billy said, just shaking. It was all hitting them slowly just how deep in shit they were. And Billy who was easily panicked, just become a mess during trouble. “Colt used to chase me home in middle school.”

Jason kept close to Billy, his hand in his. They needed each other to stay strong.“My parents will turn us over to the cops the minute they find out what I did, I don’t think they’ll believe me about the rock monster either,” Jason said, thinking back on the last time he’d been in this much shit. “I’ll probably get a life sentence with my record.”

Like being struck with lightning, Billy had an Epiphany. “I know! I know! I know where we can go! I know somewhere nobody can find us!” Billy excitedly pointed to a direction through the windshield. “We can stay there until things die out!”

“You sure about this Billy?” Jason asked, seeking his optimistic spin on a morbid situation.

“Trust me!” Billy’s eagerness distracted him from his grimness. “This is the place I’ve been talking about.”

Jason ran his thumb over Billy’s hand, just realizing how he took a leap of faith with him, so he owed him one too.“ _ _I trust you__.”

Kimberly on the other hand was doubtful and had several logical reasons to be. But since no other options were presenting themselves, she took a sharp turn, abandoning the road heading back in town for the road heading deeper into the mountains, towards the mines.  
  
What the hell was out there that could excite Billy was much.

  
  
****Gang activity.** **

After dropping off the then hysterical Amanda and shell shocked Harper at their homes, reminding them just how important it was not to squeal, they promised to avenge Ty. None of them had a clear definition of what constituted appropriate vengeance for this situation but _oh were they angry_ , scared and confused. All of those emotions mixed into a volatile deadly cocktail inside within the three boys and their newest fearless leader.

That may be the scariest thing about the gang. There was no plan, they would just hurt them until the pain of losing their friend and leader went away. No matter the results of this tirade. It wasn’t a mean-spirited game anymore. A life had been taken.

Being raised in several ill-fitted foster homes, Tommy had to create her own family. And the gang became that family. Yes they were trouble making assholes, but they were her trouble-making assholes. Hell Ty, bulk and skull had been by her side since the third grade. And no one was going to jeopardize their family and not pay the price.

Arming themselves with whatever weapons they could find, chains, knives, and baseball bats, the gang jumped into the convertible and went searching for their targets. They would start at all of their houses and work throughout Angel Grove. There was nowhere they could hide.

Again, what was scarier, mindless monsters made out of rocks and clay or sadistic teenagers hell bent on revenge? _It depends on who got to them first_.   



	5. The Mansion Scene (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teens are Teens and not evil monsters.

****Secret place.** **

 

As instructed Kimberly drove them to the mines, they ditch the pickup behind some tall foliage and trekked up and over the mountains on foot. It was pitch black, only the moon lighting their way but Billy appeared to have the path memorized superbly.

“When do we get there exactly?” Kimberly asked, as they entered another series of caves. Everything looked the same in the dark. 

“Soon!” Billy said, again.

“You’ve been saying soon for half an hour now,” Jason grumbled, tired, and worried they were lost.

“You promised to trust me!” 

“And I do, what I don’t trust is my leg’s ability to keep walking.”

“Try climbing hills in heels,” Kimberly said, stopping every so often to lean against the walls of the cave and rub her sore feet.

“I offered to carry you,” Jason chimed in, also stopping to rub his knee. “Too good for a piggy back ride.”

“Carry me?” Kimberly snorted. “You can hardly walk yourself. What is with you and playing hero, to your own detriment?”

“What is with you and pushing away people who just want to help?” He asked a question of his own. A running theme that has been plaguing the development of their friendship since they met.

“ _Look where your helping got us_ ,” Kimberly muttered, pushing pass Jason and to catch up with Billy, who surprisingly had a lot more stamina than either of them.

At that statement Jason froze. Though the caves were too dark to see much facial expression, but from the sudden silence in footsteps and even breathing it was clear that he was seriously affected by her words. “ _I’m sorry_. Ty would still be alive.”

“I didn’t mean that okay…!” Kimberly quickly interjected, reaching into the darkness to rest her hand on his shoulder. He was tense. “None of tonight was your fault…you couldn’t have predicted a damn monster would show up.” She was still baffled by what he described, things like that don’t happen and they especially don’t happen in Angel Grove. “…and Ty races Gold Road all the time…if a monster is there…he was bound to…get killed.”

She felt him relax a little under her palm. And was able to be more at ease herself. “I’m sorry, I have a reputation for hurting people when on the defensive, I’m very good at it, I go straight for the jugular most times than not. The gang used to call me __Cutthroat Kimmy__. ”

“Cutthroat huh?”Jason’s eyebrow rose. He was rightfully skeptical of that name. She looked like the perfect pretty pink package of cheerleader and prom queen. But seeing how The Gang hated her guts he had no choice but to believe her. “So Amanda….”

“Yeah…I-”

“We’re here!” Billy shouted, to the two who had fallen behind considerably.

Their conversation was cut short as they jogged to catch up with Billy. There was a soft blue light leading to the cave Billy entered. It provided useful beacon to finding Billy. Was it a flashlight? Had Billy been keeping a flashlight from them while they stumbled in the dark all this time.

 

When they found Billy, he was standing on the edge of a precipice, bathed in blue light that was eliminating from his hand. He looked otherworldly. Jason and Kimberly just stood there staring at him, transfixed by it.

“Look guys!” He pointed over the precipice. “It’s just below there.”

“Billy what is that?” Jason asked, not moving from his spot. The light was bright, and blinding.

“I’ll explain later, _ _after we jump__.”  
  
Kimberly shielded her eyes from the light, pushed passed Jason and stepped closer, peering over the edge. There a long drop and possibly a pool of water at the very at the bottom. That blue could also be a production of the moonlight shining in through the gaping hole in the cave’s ceiling.“Billy you cannot be serious!” Kimberly yelled gesturing to the length of the drop.

“Of course I’m serious, I wouldn’t jumped down an inactive volcano unless I was sure it was safe!” Billy stretched his arm, and squatted, in a warm-up fashion. Though Billy was an excitable, and anxious by nature, he was very relaxed about jumping down into a __inactive__ volcano. “The water will cushion our fall.”

“Water,” Jason muttered to himself, an image of a wet Billy sitting in the police station came back to him. “You were here last night weren’t you? That’s why you were wet…”

“Yep!” His white smile was lit up blue. “I got nabbed by the fuzz on our way out after someone reported the explosion.”

“You jumped down there?” Kimberly asked, in disbelief. Who knew Billy Cranston was a such a risk taker?

“I fell down there, __the first time__ …” Billy clarified, rubbing the back of his head. “I was digging in a highly radio active area a few months ago and found this place….but yesterday was the furthest I’ve ever been…and I found this!” He held up the shining circular rock.

“Neato.” That was all Jason needed as proof. All of what Billy said appeared to check out and he hardly thinks Billy would just lure them out to the mountains to get them to jump to their deaths. That sweet smile wouldn’t lie. Or commit murder. “He did it and survived, why not?”

Kimberly groaned, stomping her feet in exasperation. None of them were being sensible. “We are not jumping.”

“Oh yes we are,” Jason affirmed, offering one hand to Billy and the other to Kimberly. He was destined to take the lead. “Let’s do this together.”

Billy gladly took Jason’s hand, holding it tight. Jason responded in kind, hoping his burning face was not visible in the darkness. They both looked over to Kimberly expectantly. “Leap of faith?” Billy said, sporting a smile that reached his eyes.

“Damn it!” Kimberly cursed, pissed his smile worked on her. He had a really trustworthy face. She grabbed a hold of Jason’s hand, gripping it for dear life. “If I die, and go to hell, I’m dragging you with me,” She threatened Jason.

Jason chuckled, glancing over to both of his new friends to check if they were still on board. “On 3?”

“On 3,” They agreed.

Kimberly’s hands were trembling, but she didn’t get a chance to back out. “One!” Jason shouted, before he took a leap off of the edge, pulling Billy and Kimberly with him.

They fell down, screaming for dear life and clinging to each other. It was certainly a long way down, and the pressure of the air against their body was intense. Eyes shut tight, none of them knew when they were close to landing until their bodies hit water.

Splash! Their bodies pierced the surface of the freezing cold water. Pure electricity was injected into their veins. It was a shock to their systems. If they weren’t awake and alive before, they sure were now.

Utterly thrilled, Jason was the first to pop up, gasping for air, then Kimberly. When they saw each other, how drenched and disheveled; they both simultaneously burst out laughing.

“I should kick you!” Kimberly was still giggling.

“You needed this,” Jason said, slowly taking notice of his surroundings.

“ _ _I did__.”

 

The water stilled as he and Kimberly stopped moving, moonlight was shining down on them through the volcano’s crater and all that could be heard was the sound of their breathing echoing in the enclosed space.Only two individual breaths. “Where is Billy?” Jason was on the verge of a panic, his eyes wide and skin tingling.

“ I don’t remember him surfacing.”

“Oh god,” Jason’s voice trembled. Not a second lately he was diving under the water to recover Billy and pull him up to safety, hopefully it wasn’t too late. It could never be, he wasn’t going to let it happened.

Jason dove down with all of the power and strength he possessed in his body and Kimberly dove after him. As he swam down towards black nothingness, he didn’t see Billy. All round him was dark water.

The further he went the more he noticed his need for air. He could need to come up soon. And he was about to, when he spotted his own reflection in the bottom of the water. So he reached out to touch it, just pressing his fingers tips against the water at first before pushing his entire hand in. Cold air hit his hand.

He reached out, breaching the anomaly. To his shock, his hand was grabbed. He gasped, opening his mouth to the flood of water. As he was pulled through the watery portal, he reached out for Kimberly, hoping to take with her him. He wasn't successful. 

His head and torso slipped through, slowly at first; then not a moment later, he saw Billy’s smiling face and fell quickly and clumsily on top of him, causing Billy to topple to the ground under his weight. Quick to recover, Jason hoisted himself up on his forearms and looked down on Billy. “You can’t just go off on your own without telling anyone!” He scolded Billy, face marred by worry.

“I didn’t think-” Billy didn’t have much time to respond or process what Jason’s excessive reaction could mean before Kimberly fell on top of them, slamming their bodies together.

 

Having her fall cushioned she easily hopped off, and stretched her limbs, but the Jason and Billy (Who felt the brunt of the fall weight) were forced to wallow in the pain just a little longer. It took a few moments for Jason to roll off of Billy, groaning in pain with every movement.

“You guys alright?”

They looked over at one another, smiled, started to chuckle and winced immediately after. Yet if something inside them hadn’t been cracked it was definitely __dented.__  “We’re alive,” Jason strained to answer.

“Whoa!” Kimberly said, in astonishment. She kicked off her heels, and ran barefoot a head of them. “Are you seeing this?”

Finally upright, Jason gasped when he saw all she had seen. Billy watched as Jason’s eyes widen and his jaw dropped. This was the effect Billy had expected to get from Jason. This is why he had been trying to get Jason to come with him, to this secret place, ever since faithfully reuniting at school.

Jason keenly examined the underground facility, mesmerized by the shiny reflective chrome material that made up the wall, floor and ceiling. The structures (too odd to be called furniture) within this place were these abnormal shapes and design, that made it hard to pinpoint their purpose. Never had he seen a place like this in real life. Oh he had read of places like this in those pulpy science fiction novels but who would have believed those places to exist. “Are we in the future?” He asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” Billy answered still smiling at his reaction. “But good guess…”

“ _ _A government bunker__.”

“Closer and further.”

“Billy where are we?” Jason asked, getting tired of the guessing game. He had to know now.

Billy was having way too much fun to cut their game short. But he decided to give Jason a clue that would make it easier for him. “It’s where you belong but brought to you.”

“Where I belong?” He mumbled to himself, until he was able to remember the call back to their conversation at the planetarium. “Space… _ _a Space ship! We’re on a spaceship!”__

“Yes!” Billy happily clapped. “You got it, I know you would!”

He moved closer to Billy, now very skeptical of the place. It’s equal parts dusty and shiny interior, how abandonment. “Where are the little green men?” He asked growing paranoid, knowing a ship like this didn’t pilot itself to earth.

“I don’t know, this place is derelict and has been for quite sometime,” Billy walked ahead of Jason, leading him deeper into the bowels of the dimly lit space ship

“Billy this place…..” He gasped, unable to think of the words to describe the mix of bewilderment and fascination he felt as he moved from this technical marvel.

“I know!”

 

“Does it work, can we go into space?” Jason asked, looking at Billy with these shining blue eyes of wonder. Anyone else would have freaked out and run to authorities about a possible soviet vessel but Jason was wondering just how and when they could get into space. He was meant to see this place.

“The power sources appear to be...scattered.” Billy sneezed, and shivered, soaking wet and walking through an air conditioned spaceship. “I’ve managed to find one…but I’m still digging for the others…” He squeezed again, and it wracked his body. “That’s the one you saw shining earlier.”

Jason was taking off his jacket before he even realized the futility of the gesture, “Want my jack-” He felt the wetness of his jacket and stopped. “Sorry.”

Billy smiled, wiping his nose with his sleeve, He pressed a button, the automated door parted for them and entered a type of control room. Again Jason was astonished. “I realized if I was going to hang out here often…I would need stuff, so two weeks ago I brought down an air sealed, water proof bag with some stuff, bottled water, cans and bags of food and….”  He pointed over to Kimberly laying on the floor, next to a series of metal podiums, covered in a fluffy blue blanket. “and a blanket.”

“You finally got here!” Kimberly waved them over. She too had taken to inspecting everything. The boys waved back, walking over.

“You’re a real boy scout aren’t you?” Jason complimented.

“I have all the badges to prove it.” Billy bragged. 

With that Billy walked over to another panel, where he pushed a button and out came a sleeping met. He did the same on another wall and out came a large thermos and four cups. “Hot chocolate anyone?” He waved the thermos, giddy to share. “My mom made it, and I brought it down last night so it’s still fresh…ship kept it warm.” 

“I’d love some.” Kimberly stood up, dragging the blanket with her, to plop down on the laid out sleeping mat.

Jason sat next to Kimberly on the sleeping bag, and didn’t draw the blanket, specifically leaving space for Billy to sit between them. Billy blushed when he saw this show of inclusion, sat down in between Kimberly and Jason. Only then did Jason draw the blanket over both of them.

“This place….” Kimberly started, expanding her hands. She hadn’t figured the place out yet or decided her feelings on its existence. “Is something else Billy….”

“It isn’t it?” He handed her a cup of warm coco. He then turned to hand a cup to Jason, still blushing.“It’s ours if you want it to be…”

“Ours?”To Jason’s surprise, Billy snuggled up to him. His shoulders and thighs brushing up against his.

“Yeah,” Billy said, pausing to sip from his cup of coco. “The minute I saw this place, I wanted to scream it at the top of my lungs, and show just about everyone…but this is Angel Grove, heck it’s America, I’d either become __more__ of a laughing stock or the government would come and take it away from me.”

Both Jason and Kimberly nodded reassuringly, both knowing they wouldn’t have followed Billy to this place if they weren’t already desperate for a hideout. “I knew I needed a small group of friends to show it to, to experience this with me but I realized didn’t have a small group of friends or…any friends at all ,” Billy got quieter, a little nervous by what he was proposing.

“Well that’s all in the past Billy,” Kimberly stated with certainty, playfully bumping her shoulder’s against Billy’s. “You’re __ours__  now.”

Billy beamed, glowing from being shown such kindness and now having a sense of belonging. Jason gave Kimberly a knowing look, asking for something, for permission, (he gesture between him and Billy) and ever quick on the uptake Kimberly stood up from the blanket and wandered about the spaceship, her hot coco in hand. _Good Luck Tiger_ , she thought with a smirk.

 

“And we’re __yours__ , you know that too right?” Jason whispered, locking eyes with Billy, gaze lingering to the point it could not be considered anything else, but affectionate, romantic even. “Sorry it took a death, and a death threat to get me down here.”

“Well, this place is hard to sell if you haven’t experienced it yourself.”

“Billy can I do something?”

Billy’s face showed his wariness to Jason’s vague request. “Do what?”

“You trust me?” Jason whispered in his ears, echoing Billy’s earlier sentiment.

Billy nodded bashfully, ready to take this leap of faith.

And he was rewarded for his faith, Jason slowly slipped his hand under the blanket to hold Billy’s hand. “My hands are a little cold.” Jason said, displaying an uncharacteristic kind of nervousness. He didn’t realize a guy like Jason could be nervous.  Billy answered his 'message' by gripping his hand, lowering his head to take a look at their joined hands under the blanket.

Pleased with his response, Jason pressed a faint kiss on the side of his head.

Billy swiftly lifted his head, bewildered by suddenness of the affection. “What was that for?” He asked.

A slight smirk lingered on Jason’s lips, “I must a fell on you.”

He was lying, and though Billy isn’t very good at telling when people are lying, Jason made it obvious. His hands were no colder than Billy’s and he wasn’t that clumsy. Jason wanted to hold his hands, to kiss him even. He grew silent as he internally made sense of all of Jason’s clearly deliberate actions.

“Now is that alright?” Jason asked, breaking Billy’s concentration. “Or should I say sorry, again?”

“You…don’t need to.” There as a small stammer in his tone.

“You could have fooled me earlier…”

“Huh?” Billy looked confused.

Then Jason ran his thumb over his hand to remind him. “I still have goosebumps…”

“You caught me off guard!” Billy said, clarifying the misunderstanding.

“You caught me off guard too ya know,” Jason said, chuckling a little. “I wasn’t expecting to be propositioned in public, in a small town like Angel Grove.”

Billy appeared confused again. How could he catch Jason off guard. 

Jason cleared his throat, as if he was about to perform. “I can take you somewhere cooler than that, but its secret, so it has to be __just the two of us__ ,” He whispered in his ear, imitating Billy’s hint of desperation at the planetarium. “Put yourself in my position, a cute guy telling you he needs you to be alone with him as soon as possible.”

Billy’s face heated up. “Did I sound like that?”

“ _ _Oh you did__.”

Burying his face in Jason’s shoulder, Billy groaned. He didn’t know he was capable of being this embarrassed. But then again he had never had one of his action explained to him. It all felt and sounded perfectly normal in his head.

“If I was any other guy you’d have scared me off for good,” Jason added, relaxing into the warmth of Billy’s closeness.

“I have a feeling it was always going to be you…”

 

 

> That was such a powerful statement, to shook Jason to his very core. How could Billy say these things out of the blue like this?

 

****Meanwhile in Town** **

“He should have been home by now!” Mrs. Scott cried, standing in the driveway of her house, waiting for her son.

“You shouldn’t have allowed him to leave in the first place! He’s suppose to be grounded!” Mr. Scott argued, climbing into his car, after just arriving home not long ago.

“I didn’t allowed him to leave…he sneaked out Sam!” She defended herself.

“That’s why I told you to take away his keys!”

“How was he going to get to school!”

“Walk like most kids!”

The couple would have continued fighting if their daughter had not wondered outside, eyes red and sniffling. Sam and Beverly Scott were suddenly feeling guilty and shamed of their behavior. __Never in front of pearl__ was their main rule. Her mother immediately scooped her up in her arms. “Honey you should go back to bed…”

“Did Jason runaway?” She asked, with a small hoarse voice.

That was when it stuck Beverly that that was even an option. He would maybe go out drinking and partying or just go off on his own but he always came back home. No matter if he knew a lecture, and a punishment was waiting for him when he did. She hadn’t even considered that he could runaway.

 Sam saw the grimness on his wife and daughter’s faces and couldn’t bare it. He wouldn’t even indulged the idea of his boy not coming home. He was trouble but he was his trouble, his responsibility and he’d always love him. _“I’ll bring him home_ …so go right on back to bed,” He promised both of them.

Beverly nodded, blinking away her own tears, watching as he drove away.

Little did she know they had been under surveillance. Bulk and Skull watched from the bushes as the Scott’s had their quarreled. They had been ordered to stake out the place to see if Jason and his little friends were home. They clearly weren't. 

Now they had to report back to Tommy that even they’re parents hadn’t caught sight of them. This would put Tommy even an even more fowl mood.

Now onto Kimberly’s place.

 

On the other side of Town, Tommy and Colt were doing the same thing but employing a different tactics. While in the car she took off her leather jacket, donned a skirt cover jeans and release her hair from it’s ponytail. “Stay in the car,” She ordered Colt, as she approached the Cranston residence.

She knocked on the door.

Mrs. Cranston opened the door, with a worried, confused look on her face. It was a mirror of her son's. “Hello? Can I help you?”

Tommy smiled and offered her hand. “I’m a friend of Billy’s, we were supposed to catch a flick tonight.” Playing the good girl, a different part for her to play.

“You’re billy’s friend…he's never mentioned you...do you know where he is?” She asked in concern, looking out her door at the parked car. “He isn’t home and he didn’t leave a note…he knows he’s supposed to leave a note!”

“You have no idea where he is?”

“Child do I look like I do!” She snapped at this girl, claiming to be Billy’s friend. “I’ve been calling all the neighbors, asking for any clues but no good answers…and I tried to call the cops but apparently they’re busy investigating a strange crash in the mountains.”

“ _ _Damn,__ ” Tommy cursed under her breath. Amanda must have reported the crash, hopefully she didn’t squeal on them, she had a good streak in her. Tommy lost her cool for a second before regaining it. “You have no idea where he might go to hide?”

“Hide from what!” Mrs. Cranston asked, wondering what on earth this girl was talking about. “Is Billy in trouble…did he do something wrong?”

“No...not at all,” She chuckled to disarm her. “I was just thinking maybe he got cold feet about our date…and went somewhere to hide from me.”

The date scenario raised suspicion in Mrs. Cranston's mind, her son had shown little interest in girls but she couldn’t lie that the idea of him maturing and going on dates made her happy. Him escaping reality to hide from this change in his simple life, also made complete sense to her. “The mines….” She murmured, thinking back on yesterday, the last time Billy stayed out that late. “He’d go there but I forbade him from going there just yesterday and Billy wouldn’t disobey me like this again…”

“No Billy wouldn’t, it’s why I like him so much.” It amused Tommy just how some parents would do anything to hold on to the image of their child from a time when they weren’t agents in their own destinies. A time when they could protect them from themselves and the world. “Well thanks for telling me Mrs Cranston…I’m sure my older brother could get together a group of friends to help look for Billy around the neighborhood.”

That put a broad smile on Mrs. Cranston’s face. She grabbed Tommy’s hand and shaking it vigorously. “You’d do that for me! Thank you darling!”

“No problem Mrs. Cranston,” She said, walking back to the car, obscuring her sly smile. “It’s what friends are for!”

She quickly sprinted down Mrs. Cranston’s driveway and jumped into the car. She’s smiling and Colt didn’t know if he should be glad for that or worried yet.

“What’s our next move?”

“They think they can hide from us…” She said, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. “Lets pick up Bulk & Skull, and head to the mines _now._ ”

 

 

> “Yes _ _Boss Lady__.”

 

 ****Forty Minutes Later** ** ****

Tommy’s gang was barreling through the gated entrance of the mines. Tommy was driving so that meant the others had to wear their seat belt for once, for fear they would hit a bump in the road and be thrown several feet out of the car, to their doom.

The boys hated Ty’s losing too, a mixture of sad and angry. But they had a decent family life outside of this gang, good parents and a bunch siblings of to go home to. Tommy on the other hand, they knew, didn’t have much else. So this mission to fuck up those __losers__  was more for Tommy's sake than the rest of them.

“What the hell is that!” Bulk pointed out the wind shield.

Tommy hit the brake hard, bring the car to a forced stop. The force of the stop jerked the car back and the passengers in it.

“We hit someone?” Skull asked, still shaking up.

“No,” Tommy parked the car and hopped out.

It was dark as any other night but the moon was out in full and the light from their headlights provided just enough light to see a figure in a ratty brown cloak sulking around.

“Hello, sorry about that, I didn’t know you were there,” Tommy said cautious approaching the person.

 

 

 

> ****“** ** **_**_I KNoW WhO YoU SeeK_ ** _ ** ****…..”** **

 

 

 


	6. The Mansion Scene (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Next Chapter Will Be The End. Promise. I don't know what happened. I'm just really into the "feelings" scenes of this movie.

“Look at us,” Kim said, commenting on how well they’ve settled in so well. Lounging about the spaceship as if it was their living room.“It like we’ve move into a new apartment.” She'd have never believed she'd be hiding out with two _confirmed_ bachelors. 

“The house is a mess,” Jason said, playfully smiling down at Billy. “But as young newlyweds, we don’t have a lot of options.”

Billy got flustered, when he looked up at Jason’s face and realized he was talking about him. As if they were a couple. “We’ll still have to renovate, darling,” He played along, donning the voice of an upper-middle class white woman. “Within budget of course.

Kimberly giggled. He did sound exactly like her judgmental but well-meaning aunts that visit on at the holidays and critiqued everything about her lifestyle and choices.“You’ll just have to put off having kids.” She joined in on their silly game.

“Don’t be daft!” Jason embodied his surly father in that moment. “A couple without kids will look positively queer!”You could hear the smirk in his voice. He lowered himself, rested his face in the crook of Billy’s neck. “And getting to make them is why I was so quick marry this __broad!__ ”

“You're terrible…” It tickled. Billy couldn’t stop laughing. He’s happiest he’s been in a long time. “This is the most fun I’ve ever had here, and that is saying a lot considering this is a spaceship. The most interesting thing in any world.”

“I agree…I wish we could stay here forever,” Kimberly said, as she nibbled on a rice cracker and drinks the last of her cocoa. Her legs were strewn across Billy’s lap, while Billy sat in Jason’s lap, with his head against Jason’s chest. Over such a short time they had evolved to a new comfort level. “Just like this.”

“We’d run out food,” Jason said, emptying the packet of rice crackers into his mouth. Every crumb matters. “And start eating each other…” He whispered softly in Billy’s ear.

“Jason stop!” Billy whined, dusting his ear for crumbles. Oh they had come a long way. Intimacy now just felt inevitable. It felt right and _natural_.

Kimberly chuckled at their interaction, but didn’t distract from the previous conversation. “We could go above ground to buy food and ration it, until we had to do it again,” She proposed, like a kid telling her best friends they should runaway together and join the circus. She was deadly serious and also too idealistic.

It was enough to make Billy sit upright and pay attention. “You’re real serious aren’t you?” Billy asked, worried about her state of mind.“What about your parents?”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.“I doubt that they’d notice I’m gone for the first few months…”

“I’m sure they would.” It was Billy’s very nature to think positively. “What parent wouldn’t. _They love you_.”

Jason blew air out his nose. He knew Billy wasn’t trying to be obtuse but kids from good home never understand. Most people didn’t understand.

“You don’t know them like I do.” Her voice was soft and quivering. She showed a fragility that Billy and Jason didn’t think the tough girl was capable of. “The Amanda Clark incident has to be the longest conversation my parents have had with me in years…like I had to do something god awful for them to notice me…notice that something was wrong!”

Billy was quieted by her quick turn from sadness to fury. “And they weren’t even all that upset…they didn’t even ground me…just looked __disappointed__ …they were more pissed off by me cutting my hair than me ruining a girl’s life!” She groaned, and slapped her hands onto the ground. Seeing Billy’s discomforted she took a deep breath and calmed herself down. She didn’t wanted to ruin their special moment.

Several silent moments passed.

“What __did__ you do?” Jason asked, getting a feeling she could use some catharsis. Even if it’s painful at first. 

“I’m…I’m…afraid you’ll hate me…” She confessed, smiling a hurt small smile. “And I don’t want to lose all this…” She gestured to their closeness, physically and metaphorically.

“You won’t lose us.” Billy was committed to this, more than she could ever understand.

“Don’t make him give you the trust speech again.” Jason jokingly warned her.

She giggled softly, then grew serious as she told her story.

“I was the Queen of Angel Grove, Cheerleader, homecoming Queen and Queen of the Punks… _ _ruling social group at AGH__.”

“I’ve been with these guys…Ty…Bulk & Skull…Colt…and Tommy since elementary school and they were my pseudo family and lets face it, we were a __gang__. Ty and I dated the minute he finally realized I was a girl in middle school…we made the rules…we were mom and dad…and the rest were our __bratty kids__ …”

She spoke wistfully, reminiscing on the ‘Good Days.” The boys were dazzle by the softness in her face and the gentleness in her voice. “Things were good…not good at home…at home sucked for me, Ty and Tommy, so this was our real home. We cared for each other. And even if we roughed up a few kids who got too big for their breeches and got drunk and fought prep school kids and stole a few things out the convenient store that we didn’t need…we were still good kids at heart…at least they were…I was __spiraling.__ ”

Billy tensed in fearful anticipation as she continued.“It got worse when Amanda Clark showed up…this pretty blonde chick straight out of one of those catholic prep schools we used to make fun of. She got good grades, and joined the cheer squad and got along with all the other girls…and I didn’t care…as long as I was still head cheerleader. I didn’t much care for sports, I just liked the power and status it afforded me…kept me fit…helped me worked out my anger. My parents thought anything not academic was stupid anyway.”

“Then slowly but surely she began worming her way into our group. I saw it coming a mile away when she just sat at our table one day. People don’t just sit at our table. We’re exclusive! I was ready to throw her tray in the trash and shoo her away but Ty and Tommy said she was cool…and she was making the guys all bust a gut…helping them with homework…” Kimberly clenched and relaxed her jaw. It was obvious that she was still unaffected by all that occurred, she may have grown but the situation was still tender. “Every time she came by it pissed me off. She came by so often it became normal. They didn’t say it but she became an honorary member, intruding in on __my family__. I hated her. For no real reason than I felt she was moving in on __my territory__. She didn’t just want to be one of the kids either…she wanted to make the rules too…decide where we go…trying to assign people fucking nicknames…and inviting people to sit at our table…we would have never been friends with __Rebecca…she had square written all over her…but Amanda had taken to adopting her…I was appalled but the guys were fine with her. She had Amanda’s seal of approval.__ ” 

“When I got detention and couldn’t make it to games, she took over for me. And then some airhead idiot decided they should appoint her Co-head cheerleader. Like I wasn’t enough. They even started going to drive-ins, without me! I also saw her and Ty getting very close so that didn’t help…Ty and I had been together for so long…us getting married felt inevitable and we’d do things right. Be the family mine and his __never was__ …” She missed him and was more affected by his sudden death than she let on. Her shaking voice, when she was talking about him said it all. “We’d never neglect our kids…we’d never hit them…the idea of him abandoning me for her…ruined any chance of me liking her.”

“So…after I heard he drove Amanda to visit her father in another state… _ _alone__ …I snapped up…I had a panic attack…was the angriest I could ever be…Tommy tried to calm me down, (explain that Amanda hadn’t seen her dad in years)…because she knows how I get when riled up, but it was useless. I felt I was being pushed out so _ _I pushed back__.” Her eyes shifted between Billy and Jason, apprehensively. It appeared to be physically painful as well as mentally, a would that had been allowed to fester for sometime. She had hadn’t said it out loud or owned up to her sins to anyone. Just continued denial or excuses. She took a deep breath and proceeded. “I got a picture from Amanda…saying I needed it for a scrapbook or some malarkey…and she believed me because she had no idea how much I hated her…I found the nearest truck stop bathroom…posted her picture against filthiest men’s bathroom stall…and wrote her name and house’s phone number onto the white of the picture…”

“No…” Jason whispered, astonished by her ruthlessness. His eyes were wide as dinner plates, and one could see he was re-evaluating his opinion of Kimberly Hart. 

“Was it that bad?” Billy asked, understanding that the truckers would call her but not understanding the full extent of the harm it would cause. 

He clenched Billy’s hand. “Billy, a thousand and one, filthy mouth, crude truckers calling up a high school girl and asking for her by name…saying all that they’re going to do to her…that would ruin her name…her reputation… _ _possibly for life__ ….”

“ _ _Oh__ …” He exhaled, _defeated_.

Kimberly saw their reaction, and drew her legs away from Billy and buried her face in her lap. “There was no way she could explain herself when her mom and stepfather kept getting the calls from these crude men…and because she was now running with us, a wild group of kids…they didn’t believe her when she said she never met these men…because the men knew her name and how she looked…”

“God her home life must have been hell…”

Kimberly nodded her head, and not looking up from her lap.“It was…her mom threatened to kick her out or ship her away to a Catholic Girl's boarding school…and when she came to us crying…I was so happy that she would be leaving that I didn’t even fathom what all she was going through. Even when it started to spread around school…teachers…guys…and girls started treating her different…”

“When did they know it was you?” Jason asked, Billy was still too shocked to respond. Even with all his genius he couldn’t fathom thinking up something like this. She was quite the strategist.

“Well everyone may have abandoned her but our gang never did…which irked me to no end…god I’m awful…I hoped the guys  would abandon her…but they stuck by her and she and Ty got even closer…Tommy and Bulk got a hold of Bulk’s trucker uncle and found the truck stop…found the picture and knew it was me…” Finally she looked up from her lap. Her eyes were red and fluffy, and her cheeks were tear stained. She couldn’t hide it anymore. The depression and self loathing behind her tough cookie act surfaced. “Ty broke up with me. They abandoned me…took her side…They called me a monster…and I knew enough about myself to believe them. And since then they’ve been paying me back for what I did. Who could blame them?”

Breaking out of the paralyzing shook, Billy locked eyes with Kimberly. “You’re not a monster…” He asserted with confidence.

“So that’s where this masochistic streak came from…letting them torment you…” Jason prompted.

She wiped her eyes.“It’s the least I could do..”  

“ _ _No it’s not__ ,” Jason’s eyes and voice steeled. He spoke with an authority, and understanding of someone who had committed similar acts. “You did an awful thing, that does not make you a awful person. Just be the person you wanna be. If you want to be better…to be a person who saves lives…instead of ruining them…”

“So what?” Kimberly sassed, her voice still hoarse. “Vow to become a cop…join the women’s lib…”

Jason managed a soft chuckle but remained sincere. “Start by apologizing, accepting what you did…and the rest is up to you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kimberly whispered, just loud enough for the boys to hear.  

“And look,” Billy reached out a hand to her. “We’re still here… _ _we didn’t go anywhere. We won’t abandon you. You’re with us now.”__

Kimberly smiled, red faced and tear-stained. Where did she find these people? What did she do to deserve them?

 

“Now what’s your story Mr. Scott?” Billy asked formally.

“Same old…Same old…”

“Don’t be coy.” Kimberly remarked, managing a smile.“Pretend we’re your crack team of head shrinkers… _ _here to fix you__.”

“I used to go to one of those,” Billy said suddenly.

Jason was surprised by this confession.“Yeah what problem could __you__  possibly have?” Billy was a little queer, but from what little Jason knew…he was __well-adjusted__. More so than either he and Kimberly.

“I love my parents, can’t blame them for how I am,” He confessed, making patterns on Kimberly’s stockings with his fingers. Multitasking helped him to think. “I was sent to a shrink way before my dad died…and my parents were madly in love and attentive…I didn’t rebel much…didn’t have a single reason to. But people could sense I was __off__. I was just being _me_ but that wasn’t right it seems…I’m complex is what my mother says, a spectrum of developmental issues is what the doctor says…”  
   
“Whoa watch it with the big words…we aren’t all egg heads,” Jason joked to lighten the mood.

Billy smiled. He knew it was a compliment.

“Meat head,” Kimberly playfully jabbed.

“But after my dad died I needed a head shrinker more than usual…to cope…I was real lonely and I would lock myself away in the garage to work on my projects and wonder off for hours to the mines. ‘disturbed’ is what the teachers and ladies at church like to say…”

“And because our money was cut in half now…mom had to work more and we couldn’t afford to see a shrink so I stopped going. Mom got really into church. And I was left with no one to talk to…losing my dad was especially awful because I lost the only person who understood me…probably the only one who would” He looks to Kimberly and Jason, “But that’s in the past.”

Jason hugged him closer.“You bet it is.”

 

“And you Jason?” Billy wasn’t going to let him get out of this one.

He was as unwilling as Kimberly, but for different reasons. “Aw shucks….just the average story of a small town football star that fell from graces…” He tried to use a bit of humor to downplay his situations, his origin story.

His new Beau wasn’t having that. “What __caused__  it…”

“Since Kimmy here blamed her parents I might as well do too…” Kimberly rolled her eyes when he said that, but listened “I don’t know when my parents stopped being __madly in love__  with each other…” He used Billy’s terminology. “But one day I just noticed they were arguing all the time…my dad’s too aggressive and my mom’s a nag who can’t ‘behave’ like he would like her to…so they butt heads constantly and I’m __always__  caught in the middle.”  

He was given the silence he was due.

“It was perfectly fine…I could handle it because I wasn’t a cry baby or a quitter...so I went got to high school, got deeper into football became quarterback.” He said, showing a half hurt, half proud smile. “I dedicated my life to football… being part of the team gave me purpose…it gave me a group of fiercely loyal friends…and it made everyone love me…want to be me…and don’t that feel good?”

Kimberly nodded her head, she knew for a fact but Billy could imagine. He imagined that’s what its like to be in movies.

“And Football kept me distracted from anything that was going on at home…or in my head…though we were far from the punk you’re used to now…we were known for pranks…especially with our rivals at Stone Canyon,” He couldn’t hide his amusement. “They pranked us good, so we retaliated with this hilarious prank…we’d put a bull in their locker room because our school mascot was a bull.” He laughed, softly. “But that night the cops were on patrol…they chased us, I coulda gave myself up, but I went on a chase to give the guys a chance to get away. Next thing I know the car hits a wall another car...I'm upside down and everything hurts…”

“Wow Scott, that was downright stupid,” Kimberly shook her head. “And I’d know.”

“Yes, Yes it was,” Jason agreed, not laughing any more. There was nothing to laugh about. “And I learned a few days later that I permanently messed up my leg, can’t walk or run long distance…which disqualified me from playing football.”

“And If I wasn’t a football player…they guys wouldn’t hang out with me. So I didn’t have the comfort of a team. Despite what I did for them…covering for them with the cops,” He sounded bitter and had every right to be. This was why he was so fascinated with Kimberly, she knew what it meant to be abandoned. “Getting myself in trouble just gave my parents more things to fight about…I realize banking your entire future on a sport isn’t good because I didn’t planned anything else for the future…so I just starting skipping school…and thinking…thinking too much about who I am…and what I want out of life…and that just made me find comfort in a bottle...and fellas who were visiting from outta of town." He sheepishly cleared his throat. "…My parents took notice self destruction, and packed up and left just like that…so I didn’t get a _reputation_.”

“One mistake and your life was __ruined__.” In a way Kimberly wished her life ruining moment was because of a freak accident and not a calculated well-thought action of revenge. That is where they differ. That and she never found much use for distraction like drugs, alcohol or men. She rather deny and wallow.

“Yep, I did it all by myself,” He said with mock pride.

“Make a new life...” Billy suggested, looking back at Jason. With the only eyes in the world capable of reaffirming the worth of the human soul (much exaggeration on Jason’s part). “Make a new life with us… _ _with me__.”

“ _ _I’ll try__ …I know the past doesn’t just go away…” He doesn’t shy away from Billy’s gentle reaffirming gaze. “… _ _but I’ll try__.”

“I’m real proud of you Jason,” Billy was the first to break eye contact and look to Kimberly. He offered the same reaffirming gaze.“ _ _You too Kimberly__.”

“Billy you’re really something else,” She couldn’t stop smiling. Jason was a lucky guy, __real lucky.__

“I’ve been told,” Billy murmured, glancing down at his hands. He pulled away a little from the group, straightening up. The affection he was getting, in their touches and glances was overwhelming. Even a good thing is just too much.

 

Jason didn’t feel offended. He understood completely, his skin was covered in goosebumps. Never in life had he been so real with anyone who was not his family, his friends on the football team or anyone he’d ever bedded. There was never that level of natural trust or love, formed out of an unfortunate connection of situations. Had he not met Billy at the police station would he have gotten a interest in him? Had he not seen Kimberly crying, would he have thought to try to pick her up that morning? Had Ty not died, would they even be here? It felt destined. It felt right.

Billy was certain of the concept of destiny. No matter how scientific Billy was, at heart he believed in unfathomable. There was definitely a reason his father had chosen to stay committed to the mines and his mysterious mission. And this spaceship or whatever it was, was a sign of that. This is most defining moment of his life. He felt it in the bottom of my heart.  
  
Kimberly on the other hand, didn’t believe in destiny but knew a good thing when she saw one. This right here, was a good thing.

 

A half hour later, soft blue glow fell over the entire chrome room. It was like they were underwater. Billy and Jason, who were trapped in a contemplative state, were the last to become of the blue glow. “Gee Billy is your rock thing is shining a light.”

Kimberly pointed to one of the chrome platforms in the center of the room, the one where Billy put his rock to power the spaceship like electricity.

“Yeah it does that from time to time,” Billy said quite nonchalantly. He had long gotten used to the rock shining and hadn’t found out much about it, besides a few basic observation.

“Why?” Jason asked.

He shrugged. “A lot of reason, to help me find my way to back the spaceship when I go wondering off…to help me find active feature of the ship-”

“Features,” Jason asked, smiling. “What’s that?”

“Compartments…freezer…Thermostat…”

“Okay…so nothing dangerous?” Kimberly released a sigh of relief.

“Well…”

“ _ _Well…__ ” Kimberly replied, becoming annoyed. “ _ _Well?__ ”

“There were two isolated incidents…”

“... _ _Yes?__ ”

“The stone lit up when I was in danger…” He thought back on those two instances. The first incident was far back. “Once a coyote wondered onto the path to the mines…I didn’t see it until the rock started shining…and the light scared it away…It probably could have hurt me.” The second incident was just the other night. “…And last night when the mine security caught me…the light was __shining__ …”

All three of the friend glance over to the light, watching it fluctuate, brightening and dimming at different intervals. “So what does it mean __this time__?” Kimberly asked.

As Billy moved to shrug, a three loud thumps were heard in the other room, towards the entrance. The sounds echoed off the nearly empty chrome rooms, reverberating off of the walls. Shivers ran through the three occupants of the ship.

“What was that?” Kimberly panicked. 

“ _ _A Coyote__ ,” Jason hoped. 

A series of heavy footsteps followed. “Coyotes don’t wear leather boots!”

“Kimmy, Billy, Scott!” Tommy shouted, followed by gleeful laughter and rowdy chanting. “Come out…come out…!”

They froze in fear and disbelief. Their safe place, their sanctuary was invaded. How in hell did they find them and knew to dive down here. Damn they were frighteningly persistent. What was fueling them? What were they getting out of this? Revenge, entertainment or a equal heaping of both.

“What are the chances they just wanna to talk?” Billy asked  optimistically.  
  
Kimberly was was already on his feet, and quickly scanning the spaceship for escape routes. She knew these people. “I doubt it!”  
  
“ _ _Let’s go!__ ” Quick on the uptake, Jason stumbled to his feet and pulled Billy up with him. He gripped his hand tightly and kept him close. He and Kimberly were thinking the same thing, the tunneled hallways were their best bet to hide or escape. “Down this way!”

 _ _How did they find us?__ The three kids were baffled by this question and terrified by the immediate danger right behind them.

 

 **Earlier  
**  
__“I KNoW WhO YoU SeeK…”_ _

__A old frail woman could be seen beneath the dirty black cloak. Her face was pale white, and thoroughly wrinkled. She limped towards Tommy, hunched back and shivering._ _

__Tommy stepped back instinctively. “What the hell are you talking about?” She wasn’t afraid of her. This was just some old woman but she was grotesque and emitting a putrid odor. Rancid fish came to mind._ _

__“ **YOuR Brother’s KILLER** …” She reached out to Tommy, gripping her hand, viciously. Her  shrill voice was chalk against a blackboard.“ **You want to AVENGE HIM DON”T YOU?** ”_ _

__“What the hell!” Tommy screamed, as she clenched her first and tried to pull away her hand. The old hag was prying her fingers open, and resting something cold in her hands. For the first time she was afraid for her life._ _

__“ **You’ll nEED this to CaTCH THEM!** ” A glowing green light emanating from Tommy’s hand. She stopped struggling and stared at the mesmerizing light. The emerald beacon transfixed her. Seduced. Weakened her strong defenses. Made her susceptible to the hag’s alluring whispers. It chipped away at Tommy’s impenetrably stubbornness and willpower..“ **Bring them TO ME.** ”_ _

__“Them.” had more than one meaning, and somehow Tommy was able to understand all of the intricacies of her alien language. A psychic connection was being formed, tethering the two of them together. They essentially had the same goal, one more passionate and deadly than the other but could easily be influenced to become one in the same. “… **be MY CHAMPION**!”_ _

__Seeing Tommy petrified figure in front of the car, while the old hag got too close for comfort, running her veiny white hands all over Tommy’s face and hair; Bulk and Skull got of the car and raced over to her. Colt stayed behind out of cowardice. “Get away from her!” Bulk shouted, barreling towards the two figures in the night._ _

__By the time they arrived, the old woman was gone. Vanished into thin air. Leaving Tommy behind, with a dazed look in her eyes and a glowing clutched tightly in her palm. Skull hadn’t seen a mystified look like that since a hotel lounge magician in Aruba put his father to sleep and made him cluck like a chicken. “Tommy!” He shouted, shaking her shoulders as Bulk snapped his fingers._ _

__The rapid snapping of his fingers were just the stimuli that Tommy needed to awaken her system. The green glow dimmed in her eyes but did not vanish entirely. Her once hazel eyes were naturally green now. She blinked, dispelling the dazed affect.  She appeared to be normal herself now, just with an added edge. “I know where they are boys….” She said, smirking. She pointed the glowing green rock into the distance, and the light aimed itself to the series of caves up ahead._ _

__“Where did you…?” Bulk didn’t get answer to his pressing question, Tommy run on ahead. She moved with the speed and agility of a cheetah. Her determination had been heightened to unforeseen levels._ _

__“What’s got into that girl!”_ _

__“I don’t know skull…but we gotta watch out for her!”_ _

__

That night Mrs. Cranston wander the streets of Angel Grove searching for her son, when none of her neighbors could give her any useful information. She contemplated calling the police but decided to try on her own first, getting nowhere, she gave up and decided to report him missing. Never in her life had she been more terrified; she’d already lost her husband, she couldn’t bare to lose Billy in anyway.  
  
She wasn’t a perfect mother, She knew that. She worked long days and late nights to maintain the standard of life they had before losing her husband. Doing so, she grew apart from Billy, she didn’t understand her son as well anymore, not well as her husband did. So this rebellious, withdrawn phase of his was already taking her for a loop. And now he was leaving the house at all kinds of hours, without permission and ending up in police custody. When did he stop being her sweet little boy. What could she do to get him back?

“Where is my son!” A stout man, slammed a young man against the wall of the police station. What an idiot. Is he looking to arrested? “I hear you’re the town’s resident crook.”

“You heard wrong old man,”The young man laughed, trying to pry the man meaty hand’s off his collar. “I was let go! Coppers have nothing on me…”

The closer Mrs. Cranston got, the better she was able to recognize the young man and the concerned father. She knew the troublesome Zachary Taylor well, his father and Billy’s face used to go out for drinks. And the man she’d seen yesterday, completely new to Angel Grove by the way he look and acted. Zack did have a pension for stirring up trouble and plotting money making schemes, but Candace knew damn well with his father’s absence and his mother’s illness, money was real scarce.

“You expect me to believe the scrap dealer has nothing to do with the drag race? Where all the kids were tonight? ” He threatened, not letting go of his collar.

“I expect you to back off,” Zack mustered up enough strength to push the enraged man off of him. He wasn’t being playful anymore, he was serious. He huffed, straightening his collar. “Your kid is something else…I saw him tonight…he willingly got into that car…but I got out of there well before anything went down. Touch me again you’ll end up worse off than him!” He threatened back, just as viciously as Mr. Scott had. The father stumbled back, reeling. Zack used what he knew to wound the man long enough for him to get away, even though he didn’t have all of the answers himself. He turned to leave, but saw Mrs. Cranston walking towards him with just as much fury. What is with his suburban parents tonight?

“Zachary Taylor! _Where is my boy!_ ”


	7. Final Scene (Off-Movie and Loving it)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last time on Rebel Without a Cause: 'Billy, Jason and Billy are being chased by Tommy and her gang of Punks'

Tonight, was supposed to be Zack’s big night. One minute he’s cleaning up, collecting wads of cash from these suburban kids (looking for excitement in their safe, dull lives) and the next minute he’s speeding away from the scene of a crime. There had been a few kids who got spooked by swerving too close to the edge but there had never been a death in _their_ lifetime (there were rumors of their parents time), so when the explosion happened, he panicked and got the hell out of there. He knew for a fact he’d be blamed for it. He wasn’t doing time, not now or ever.

And as suspected, the cops brought him into the station two hour later. Amanda had squealed. Chickee didn’t name any names thank god. She knew better than to do that, but she did tell the cops about the race, so they could fish Ty’s body out and give him a proper burial. She was bawling her eyes out, barely held together by Ty’s mother’s arms and Rebecca’s arms. He hoped he had someone who cared for him like that when the times comes, someone other than his mother. Someone who’s time on the earth wasn’t as limited.

Over hearing this when he was brought in was a shock, he’d expected Blondie to have died. It would have been tragic either way, but Zack had built a rapport with Ty Fleming, he was a decent enough guy (a bit of an asshole sometimes but who wasn’t?) He would be missed by many. Zack wasn’t mad about being brought in after that hearing that the cops just interrogated the usual suspects and he just happened to be at the top of that list. They didn’t have any hard evidence on him, so they let him go with a warning.

He’d escaped the fire, only to fall into the frying pan. One minute he’s a free man, and the next he’s being accused by some tough guy looking for his son, _Jason Scott_. He was confused until he saw the resemblance between Blondie and this beefcake. He pushed him off and ditched him moments later. Zack Taylor was a lot of things, but a pushover or coward was not one of them. He could take him and _win_.

One person who he couldn’t easily dismiss was Candace Cranston, because before his foray into criminal activity she used to be friends with his mother, and he used to even hang out at Billy Cranston’s house in the afternoons when his mother worked the night shift at the diner. Blue-collar families had to stick together in Angel Grove. Then his father went missing (more like skipped town with all their savings) and they had to move into the trailer park. She helped even more, sending casseroles and sending Christmas presents and birthday presents they couldn’t afford anymore. But then her husband died around the same time as Zack’s mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and grief from both tragedies caused them to lose touch. She went back to school to upgrade from a paralegal to a full-blown lawyer so her family could maintain their lifestyle anyway they could. Treatment was expensive so Zack had to neglect school to keep them afloat, getting a job at the local scrap yard, and supplementing that meager pay with _illegal activities_ such as refurbishing junk cars, and selling them to suckers or renting them to the local drag racers.

He didn’t expect this was how he’d meet up with Mrs. Cranston and end up being bullied into the backseat of some dude’s car, while he gave her directions to the last place, he’d seen Billy and Jason. Hopefully Billy hadn’t gotten himself hurt or into any trouble, he was all Mrs. Cranston had. And Zack knows if he lost his mother, the only person in his life, he’d give up and just fade away.

He really didn’t want to see someone give up on life tonight.

 

**Back at ship**

Jason worked better under pressure than most people. Last minute victories in football were training him for high pressure situations like this. Billy on the other hand didn’t have the experience of almost losing and suddenly turning things around, so he was shivering like a leaf. “I’m going to die dad, we’re going to die, and mom’s gonna be all alone…” Billy muttered to himself (to his father ghost, who seemed to follow Billy).

“We’ll make it through this…” Jason whispered, as Billy clung to him for a feeling of security. He didn’t have much to go on, but he’d make sure Billy made it out unscathed.

The certainty in Jason’s eyes were reassuring. Billy stopped his whimpering and nodded his head. If Jason wasn’t giving up, then he wouldn’t either. They were in this together. Even if Kimberly wasn’t anywhere to be seen. She’d disappeared in the scramble.

As they huddled in a dark corner, hiding themselves in the tunnels (that sadly weren’t as endless as they appeared to be), Tommy and the punks were slowly approaching and striking fear into them by taunting them. “Come out…come out…” Tommy called, shining the brilliant emerald light into every crook and crevice in front of her.

“What the hell is this place Tommy?” Bulk asked, examining foreign architecture of the place.

“Think commies made it?” Skull asked, staying close to Bulk out of fear. This place had an eerie sterile atmosphere that unsettled the punk.

“Don’t be stupid! There are no commies in Angel Grove…” Colt kept pace behind Tommy. He wanted to stay within reach of her powerful light, the dimness of the place kept him on edge. “But this place is queer isn’t its Tommy? Think it’s the C.I.A?”

“I don’t care if it’s stinking alien!” Tommy grumbled. She didn’t care about where she was, just what she was going. Her keen eyes peered into the darkness, searching for moving shadows, and her even keener ears listened for talking or stumbling. “I just want this night to be over…”

“Me too!” Colt was put off by her coldness.

The defeated way Tommy said that confused Colt. If she wanted the night to end, she could just turn around and leave. She was the boss. The night ended when she decided it ended, but the way she spoke made it sound as if she was being compelled to complete this ‘mission’. Was it her loyalty to Ty or was it something beyond their understanding?

Suddenly her ears perked up. She heard whispering and raced ahead into the direction of the whispering. Colt groaned softly and followed behind her, hoping the night would end soon. Tommy isn’t acting like herself and this place gave him the creeps.

The sound of leather boots stomping onto reinforced iron and chrome was an unnaturally menacing sound. Billy trembled with every step, he could feel them getting closer and hear their chatter. “They’re going to find us…”

“Then if they do, we’ll fight back.” Jason promised in earnest. “There’s four of them, and three of us, the odds aren’t that bad…”

“I’ve never fought anyone!” Billy whisper screamed.

“You defended me at the planetarium.”

“That was a fluke! I was almost killed!”

Jason quickly placed his finger over Billy’s lips, allowing some moments to past before he started speaking again. “Kim and I will handle the fighting, just do what you can okay?”

“Where is Kim?” Billy asked. They couldn’t prepare a plan without her.

“If we can’t find her…they can’t either.” Jason was thoroughly impressed by her stealth abilities.

“Jason…?”

“Yeah Billy?”

Billy crept closer to Jason. “If we do die…”

Jason rolled his eyes. “We’re not going to die!” He said convincingly.

“But if we do…” Billy held Jason’s gaze for as long and as tenderly as their awkward position permitted. “It was nice knowing you...this may have been the most eventful day of my life…”

Jason swallowed hard. “Stop talking like we’re not going to see each other again…”

“ _We might not!_ ” Billy whisper screamed. “I should have left mom a note. She’s probably so worried.”

He’d never expected such pessimism from Billy of all people. Jason had to distract him somehow or he’d get a heart attack before Tommy and her gang can even lay a finger on them. “What kind of movies do you like Billy?” He asked suddenly.

Billy looked at him skeptically. “Movies?”

Jason smiled. “Yeah you know, the cinema. What do you like to see?”

“I don’t know….” He thought for a few seconds before answering. “I guess I love a good mystery, I like putting the clues together before the _big_ reveal.”

Jason’s smile widened. “Gosh you never rest that big brain of yours, do you?”

Billy blushed. “I like classic westerns too.”

“Look at that, I do too. I can’t say I didn’t identify with the heroes. A loner comes into town, stirs up trouble with the bad guys, shoots straight, save the town and get the girl…”

“You fit the bill…”

“So how about it?”

“How about what?”

“We, you and me, see a western Saturday night.”

“Saturday night?”

“I promise…”

Jason got caught up in the moment. He forgot where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. And he managed somehow to get Billy to do the same. He leaned in slowly, giving Billy time ample to either push him away or reject him but he didn’t. He awaited Jason’s lips on his.

Just before their lips could meet a blinding green light lit up their hiding spot. Immersed their conversation they didn’t notice that tactful steps of the leather boots had lightened and drew near to them. “There they are!” Tommy shouted.

“Shit!” Jason said, grabbing Billy by the hand and stumbling out of the corner with him. Billy was so bewildered he tripped over his feet and fell to the ground. Jason had no choice but to slow down and help Billy to his feet. In that split second the Tommy and her punks caught up with them – _surrounding them_.

They wouldn’t have gotten far anyway. The tunnels weren’t as deep as they would have needed, and the punks are faster than expected. Strong arms grasped a hold of the two boys and pulled them apart from each other. Being separated was scarier than being manhandled by ruthless thugs.

“Well if it isn’t Cramston and _Blondie_ …” Bulk said, pushing Jason closer towards Tommy.

“Where’s Kim?” Skull asked. |  
“She’s never been one for loyalty; she probably ran off and left them.”

“Sounds like her alright…”

Jason doesn’t speak until he saw Colt bending Billy’s hand behind his back. Billy winced, but didn’t have the nerve to confront him about it or fight his way out. “You’re hurting him, _stop!_ He has nothing to do with this!”

Colt chuckled, but his smile vanished when he saw the expression on Tommy’s face. She was gloating or laughing like he had suspected. Tears filled her eyes and she glowered at Jason, with the presence of a scorned woman. Her face said Jason owned her something. He took something from her. _“Shut up!”_ She shouted.

“ _What do you_ –

“ _I said Shut up_!” She cut Jason off.

In his enforced silence, Jason glanced over to Billy to see how he was doing, he had become accustomed to the tight grip on his arms. _‘Do what she says,’_ Billy slowly mouthed to Jason. He knew Jason’s naturally rebellious attitude would only get him into even more trouble if he didn’t get it under control.

_“I’ll ask you one more time, and if you don’t tell the truth, we’ll beat the snot out of you.”_

“Just tr –  
As Jason was about to respond to her threat, Billy shot him a glare. “Jason,” He grumbled out a warning. Jason deflated, submitting to the mad woman for as long as doing so kept him and Billy safe.

“What did you do to Ty?” Tommy asked.

“I didn’t do anything!” Jason growled.

“Liar!”

“I’m not lying!”

“Ty knows that road like the back of his hand! He’d never just skid off the road!”

Jason stared her dead in the eyes. “A monster slammed him off the road.”

She delivered a hard slap to Jason’s cheek. Billy snapped his eyes shut and winced. It looked like it stung. “There isn’t any goddamn monster!” She shouted. “You’re the monster!”

“What’s the sense of asking me if you only believe what you want to?” Hot air furiously blew through his nose. “I didn’t do anything to Ty.”

His insolence was going to get him slapped again. Distressed, she lifted his hand high up, about to strike him again.

“Don’t touch him!” Billy interrupted her. “If he said he didn’t do anything, then he didn’t! Jason isn’t a bad guy _. He isn’t a killer!_ ”

_“You don’t know that!”_

_“Yes. I. Do!”_ The certainty in Billy’s voice and eyes gave Jason shivers and infuriated Tommy. This was the first time he’s ever stood up for himself and someone else like this. Was it a mistake?

“I guess you won’t admit the truth until I take someone from you too!” Tommy threatened.

The punks loosened their grip on Billy and Jason, not understanding what Tommy could exactly mean by her deadly threat but her tone of voice said she’d make good on it. And with a spark of light, her eyes glowed bright green and a sinister aura engulfed her body. She lifted her hand with the green gem inside it, pointing it at Billy. Her arm trembled as if she was having trouble handling the weight of the power building within her palm.

“Where did you get that?” He asked, surprised she found a stone like his but a different color.

“Like I’d tell you!”

Billy decided to keep quiet about the stone in his pocket. If he were to survive this confrontation, he’d have to find out just how many of these stone there were and if they were valuable.

All the boys watched her curiously, confused by the glowing rock that she pointed in Billy’s direction like she was brandishing a dangerous weapon. None of them had a reason to fear her extravagant green flashlight. “Now tell me the truth or he gets it!”

Oh, she has gone off the rails, Billy thought. Everyone else silently agreed.

“Boss,” Colt attempted to reason with her.

“ _Shut. Up_!” She snapped. She didn’t take her eyes off Jason and kept her the coin pointed at Billy. “Tell the truth or I’ll end him!”

Her stone glowed and the light began to emanate from it and projected outward. It was a dazzling stream of light that aimed to shoot out. It wasn’t a worry to the boys _until_ it began to radiate an intense wave of heat in Billy’s (and subsequently Colt’s) direction. It hinted at the force of _a blowtorch._

“ _T_ …” Colt whimpered.

Billy was trembling, and tears streamed down from his face. “Jason…”

“Billy!” Jason tried to wrestle his way out of Bulk’s grip, but Skull joined in holding him back. They were all terrified of Tommy, but it would take a lot for the punks to betray or question her motives. And possibly obliterating Cranston with a disintegrating laser beam was not damning enough it seemed.

“Please don’t, I’ll admit to anything!” Jason cried, still futilely kicking at Bulk and Skull, only to receive a hard slug to stomach. He slumped down in groaning pain, but that pitiful sight didn’t deter Tommy or trigger any empathy in her glowing green eyes. The unrelenting haze of vengeance around her was _impenetrable_.

“ _Admit you killed him!_ ” She ordered, and her words echoed as if two people had said them in unison.

Under the threat of a laser aimed at Billy, Jason mustered up the emotional and physical strength to confess to murder. He swallowed hard, and glanced over to Billy to remind himself why he’s doing this. Billy was already gazing at him with eyes pleading for him just to behave and play their game, so they aren’t harmed. “Just do it Jason,” It was said, with the promise that Billy would never believe he could kill anyone. No matter what he had to say.

Jason took a deep breath and confessed, “I killed Ty Fleming, I ran him off the road…”

“I know you did,” she breathed out with object certainty. Some people needed a lie to believe, when the truth was far too painful to cope with.

Was that all she wanted? Billy and Jason breathed a sigh of relief, waiting to be released.

A sinister grin spread across Tommy’s face. _“Now killing Cranston will just be getting even!”_

“NO!” Jason screamed and charged at Tommy, holding to be held back. “You promised!”

“I lied!” She cackled.

A beam of light builds in the palm of Tommy’s hand. _Hot and impending_. She aimed it at Billy, all while grinning from ear to ear. Her grin was deranged and foreign, the guys couldn’t recognize her. Sensing imminent doom, Billy and Jason struggled out of their holds, refusing to go down without a fight, refusing to watch the other die. As a light shot out of her stone, _a dark silhouette_ dropped down from the ceiling and fell directly on top of Tommy. The sudden weight knocked Tommy’s aim off course, so she fired the laser of green light to the left of Billy, still grazing his shoulder; Heat seared at his skin. Colt fell and quickly crawled away from the scene. Jason raced to Billy’s aid, gripped his arm to keep him from bleeding out and groaned in pain.

“What the hell Tommy!” Bulk and skull screamed running down the hall and hiding behind boulder. “Give a warning next time!”

“Get off me!” Tommy barked as Kimberly knocked the green stone out of her hand and pinned her to the ground. She’d been in the rafters all along, which blew everyone’s minds. She exerted strength that the boys had only gotten a glimpsed during the kerfuffle at the planetarium. She had an arm wrapped around Tommy’s neck, holding her in a headlock.

“Kimberly!” Jason gasped.  

“Jason take Billy and go!” She screamed, as Tommy tried to raise up and push Kimberly off.

“We have to help her!” Billy said as Jason pulled him away.

“ _She’s helping us_. You’re bleeding! _Let her help us!_ ”

“She needs _us_ …”

“I’ll catch up Billy!” Kimberly shouted, out of breath and being fought against. _“Go!”_

The boys took off in the opposite direction, entering another series of dark tunnels. They avoided looking back, hoping Kimberly can handle herself; knowing she could handle herself, whiles also on edge because Tommy was a _tough cookie_ herself. They hear a hard whack being connected to flesh – they had to think positively to keep moving. Racing down another chrome tunnel in dim light or no light at all depending on the section. They’re sweating, filled with fright and grasping each other’s hand tightly.

It was not long before they reached another dead end.

“Shit!” Jason cursed, beating against the stonewall.

“You’re hurting yourself!”

“I can handle it!”

Billy sighed and pulled Jason away from the wall that he was frustratingly beating against. They knew full and well turning back would mean risking getting caught again. Jason threw his hands up in the air and groaned exasperatedly. “ _I’m gonna get us killed_.”

“Jason!” Billy interrupted.

“What Billy?” He snapped out of his self-pity long enough to hear Billy. He was reminded of Billy’s bleeding wound, immediately began tearing off a piece of his shirt to wrap around Billy’s wound.

Billy scooped the glowing blue stone out of his pocket. “I think I have an idea!” He aimed it at the thick rock wall and started squinting his eyes and grimacing at the pain of lifting his arm. “If Tommy’s own can fire a laser maybe my can too!”

“You’re a genius!”

“It’s just a hypothesis, and I have no idea If I can actually do it or if it’s a just a feature of _her particular stone_.” Billy explained.

“Just a second,” Jason wrapped the torn cloth around Billy’s arm, he tied it tightly to stop the bleeding. He slowly ran his hand over his arm, trying to sooth whatever pain Billy felt. “ _Try_.”

Billy’s face lit up at the show of affection. He took a deep breath and passed the stone over to his other, fitter hand. He leaned his weight against Jason to steady himself and aimed his stone at the wall. He closed his eyes in deep concentration, clenched his teeth and hoped the power would flow out.

An air of silence surrounded them.

Absolutely nothing happened.

“Why isn’t anything happening!”

“Calm down…maybe yours can’t do that but we’ll work something out.”

“I think may –

 _“Billy!”_ A voice suddenly called from behind him.

Billy jolted and squealed. A dazzling blue laser was fired from the stone in Billy’s hand and shot through the wall in front of them, blasting a giant hole in the wall. Startled by the accumulation of dust and crumbling rocks, they ran away from the damaged, hacking up dust. The miniature avalanche widened the gaping hole even further.

“Gosh Billy, put that thing away. You’ll put an eye out!”

“Kimberly!” Billy spun around and hugged Kimberly, instantly grimacing in pain seconds later.

“You’re alive!” Jason clapped her on the back.

“Thanks for having faith in me.” She sassed, still wincing at the smack to her bruises hidden in her blouse. “Won’t be for long though, if we don’t get moving.”

“Sorry for leaving,” He murmured.

_“I told you to.”_

Jason looked back at the tunnel. “Tommy’s still after us?”

She sighed. “Yeah surprisingly she can take a thermos to the head.”

“Thermos?” Billy mouth hung open. That was the source of the hard whack they had heard.

“Don’t over think it. _Let’s go!_ ”

Fresh mountain air and beams of moonlight entered the tunnels through the hole after the dust settled. They started to climb out of the tunnel but was slowed down by an injured Billy who could only use one arm and needed Jason’s help. When Billy attempted to climb over the jagged opening, his stone began to glow blue and other lights emerged out of the stone. Pink and red lights shined out like beacons in the dark; they were polished crystal stuck inside crumbing stone. The lights called to Kimberly and Jason, luring them in, making them halt their escape and dig out the stones.

“Looky looky!” Kimberly gleefully armed herself. “How much do you think they’re worth?”

Billy was focused on the reaction of personal stone which grew hot in his palm when near to the others. His blew at his palm and winced. “Depends on how much of them there are…”

“I don’t know what I feel about these guys…you’ve seen what they can do,” Jason said, lifting the red stone to the light.

“Never took you for a chicken,” Kimberly said with a smirk.

“Now you watch your mouth.”

Kimberly folded her hands under her arm to form wings; she flapped her wings around and squawked in Jason’s face. He narrowed his eyes and she stuck her tongue. Suddenly Billy grabbed their hands and attempted to pull their stone together just to experiment with the foreign artifacts. He had a theory.

The sound of hard boots stomping on the ground sent a wave of fear through them.

“Shit!” Jason cursed, grabbing Billy.

Once again Kimberly was ahead of him. “Let’s get a move on!”

 

**At the entrance to the mine.**

“Did you hear that?” Mrs. Cranston asked, clinging onto Zack. There was the huge explosion and disturbance in the silence nature of the night.

“I’m sure explosions are normal up here Mrs. C,” Zack tried to calm her nerves.

“At night Zachary.” She wasn’t having it.

Zack shrugged. “Night shift?”

“Don’t be stupid boy, something things not right here…” Mr. Scott appeared behind them, having parked the car in a safe area. “Jason’s here alright…trouble follows that boy.”

“He causes trouble,” Zack mumbled.

“Speak up boy!” He goaded him. “I can’t hear you.”

Zack narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “I don’t repeat myself and _I’m not your boy_.”

“Keep mouthing off –

Mrs. Cranston pushed through the metal gate and walked off away from the quarreling men. She wasn’t having their childishness; It was aggravating her. “I’m going to find my son, _keep up!”_

Zack blew air through his nose and ran off behind Mrs. Cranston. “I can’t have you getting hurt Mrs. C!”

“I can handle myself.”

“Unless mine security is on guard.” Mr. Scott walked behind them, shining a flashlight into shadowy places that the erected light posts leave dark.

“Let any of them touch my boy!”

“I thought he was in trouble?” Zack asked. Had she forgiven him already?

“Of course, he is,” She asserted. “After I defend him, I’ll kill him.”

Zack burst out into laughter. “This brings back memories.”  


**Meanwhile…**

Green Lasers are firing off into the night, targeting the three running shadows. Tommy’s legendary persistence was becoming a strain, even her punks couldn’t keep up and weren’t trying anymore. What was fueling this girl? Whatever it was Billy, Jason and Kimberly could use a shot of it. Exhaustion had taken its toll on their bodies and injuries had been exacerbated by overexertion. They couldn’t run at peak performance anymore. Their print had devolved into a jog and minutes later their jog became a limp and an occasional dodging of lasers. They’re life was in danger, but a heart attack might kill them first.

Billy tripped over a rock and came tumbling to the ground. Jason and Kimberly stop in their tracks and tried to pull him up to his feet again. Billy batted their hand away. “I can’t run anymore Jason.”

“Yes Billy, you can’t, we’ll help you!” Jason is pulling him off the ground, but Billy isn’t helping him one bit.

Billy climbed to his feet and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. “I’m slowing you down.”

“And you think I care?” Jason said, his chest quickly raising and falling. “Do you think running away is worth it, if you’re not with me?”

“ _Jason_ …” Billy sighed adamantly.

Jason was stubborn than he was. “ _Billy_.”

They were at a stalemate. Billy couldn’t run anymore, and Jason couldn’t leave Billy. His eyes turned to the stars and Jason’s eyes followed not long after. If they weren’t running for their lives, they could have basked in the beauty of the night. The moon was full, and the stars gleamed out here in the darkness. “No matter what’s happening down here, crime or wars, up there is always quiet and peaceful.”

_“Yeah, I’ll go there someday,” Jason said._

_“I know. Take me with you,” Billy said._

“Can’t go without you. You’ll build our rocket ship genius.” He doesn’t raise his voice or try to strongarm Billy but he’s honest. “We can’t go if we stop running, can’t go to the stars if we’re dead.”

Their eyes met, Billy saw his desperation and conceded. “If you can’t go without me.”

Kimberly was standing in front of them, her hands on her hips. “Why are we running?”

“Crazy Tommy Oliver is after us,” Jason said plainly.

“We don’t want to die?” Billy asked skeptically.

“We won’t die.” She pulled her pink stone out of her pocket and smirked. “We have her out gunned.”

“She has us out manned,” Being captured was still clear in Billy’s mind.

“We can take those losers!”

“Couldn’t before,” Jason grumbled.

Kimberly snorted, “They took us off guard.”

The sound of leather boots stomping through mine’s quarry. His injured arm throbbed as he grabbed a hold of Jason. “They’re coming!”

“Then let’s give them a surprise!”

“You’re a bad influence you know?” Jason smiled at the two.

Kimberly lead the charge, brandishing her pink stone like a gun. It felt comfortable in her hand, like it had always meant to be hers. Billy leaned against Jason, lifting blue stone in his uninjured hand. Jason grasped Billy’s hand, using the other to lift his red stone.

As the approaching footsteps got closer, they got louder and heavier. Holding each other, they could feel that they were all trembling – _everyone was scared_. Even the brave Jason and the braver Kimberly. Billy ‘the resident coward’ felt more at peace knowing his friends were also afraid; he wasn’t holding them back anymore. They were afraid together, and they seek to conquer that fear together.

Tommy ran ahead first into clearing, with a scowl on her face and her weapon in hand. She met their targets in a power formation. She was alone, the punks hadn’t caught up yet. She was taken off guard but doesn’t falter one bit. They may have been able to hide the fear on their faces, but Tommy could smell their fear, she could feel the waves of fear radiating off them. “What’s this? You’ve not only come to hand over Scott but also give me those coins?”

“Coins?” The terminology confused Kimberly. Did Tommy know what the hell these things are? She sure knew how to use it.

“Back off Oliver!” Jason shouted.

“We’ve got you gunned!” Billy repeated the sentiment Kimberly had said earlier. He wasn’t very good at witty comebacks, so he usually spouted whatever he heard and lines from movies and televisions. “We’re going to kick your ass!”

“But can you even use it?” A grin emerged.

“Yes, we can, try us!” Kimberly declared.

“We can?” Billy asked.

“She doesn’t need to know we can’t…” Jason whispered.

“We can’t?” Kimberly whisper-screamed to Jason. “Didn’t Billy shoot a hole through a cave wall?”

“I’m pretty sure it was an accident.”

“It was definitely an accident,” Billy said loud enough for Tommy to hear.

Tommy laughed, short and contained. It was too measured to be her natural laugh.

“Goddammit Billy!” Kimberly stomped her foot in the dirt. She’d hoped he could have taught it to her on the fly. But now there was less hope.

Bulk, Skull and Colt finally showed up behind Tommy. They were winded, covered in a sheen of sweat and lacking any vigor that they had before. It would be an understatement to say they were tired and frustrated with Tommy and the hell of a night she had put them through. Them standing behind her now was a testament to their loyalty and the power of grief.

“We have your back T.” Skull said. Bulk and Colt each offered a nod of the head.

“I like need you guys to take them down.”

Skull gasped at her biting insult, and disappointedly slinked back. Tommy had never spoken to them like this. What was this mission doing to the dynamics of their family? They already lost Ty to the chickee run and now they are losing Tommy to the aftermath.

 _“I have everything I need!”_ Suddenly, she fired another shot at them.

Jason had spotted the preparation of the beam and pulled Billy and Kimberly into a squat as the bolt fired in their direction. Blazing green lasers shot over their heads and disintegrated a tree and the boulder behind it. Kimberly and Billy released identical high-pitched squeals. The explosion was a lot smaller and less impactful than before, but Billy still jumped. Tommy cackled, amused by the scrambling.

“Less defense and more offense!” Kimberly screamed, as they climbed to their feet.

“We don’t know what to do!” Billy said.

“Then let’s do what she does!” Jason said.

They reunited, holding onto each other and taking the formation Tommy did. They extended their arms with the stones and spread their legs apart in a firm stance. She watched amused as they closed their eyes tightly and waited for their stones to fire. Nothing happened, and that prompted another round of laughter from Tommy.

Tommy fired another shot, causing the three to separate, and drop and roll to the ground to avoid getting hit. That was a _painfully_ close call. That could have been them. The ray hit a tree causing it to be set on fire. “Useless piece of shit!” Kimberly shouted at her coin.

“That’s not helping…” Jason said, pulling Billy to his feet.

Billy looked down at his trembling hand, then to the rage on Kimberly’s and the facade of calmness Jason was wearing to hide the fact he’s also angry and terrified. Tommy was calm, happy and in control and they were the opposite. Taking a page from Tommy’s book, Billy took a deep breath and pondered onto the observation that he’d made about the stone. It was a flashlight, a beacon to finding the ship, warned of danger, and Tommy’s could be used as a laser. They also grew hot in proximity and before they were disrupted, he had his uncontrollable urge to bring them together.

“I have an idea!” Billy exclaimed, racing over to his friends.

“I knew you would,” Jason sighed in relief.

“Yes Billy!” Kimberly said.

Tommy watched them run around like headless chickens trying to avoid her lasers. She’s grinning and cackling, enjoying herself – enjoying her role as executioner. She gave them a moment to catch their breath and talk before she interrupted their conversation with a green laser between them. Now they were taking refuge behind a tree, knowing full well it would never protect them.

“Tommy might be able to do this alone, _but we can’t_ ,” Billy said, slowly joining hands with Jason and Kimberly. “We’ll eventually learn to do this alone but until then…let’s combine our stone and I can guarantee we’ll be stronger than her…”

“That’s a lot of assumption,” Kimberly said.

“Have you forgotten the trust speech?” Jason asked, with a small smile.

Kimberly chuckled, accepting much of their friendship would be leaps of faith and a constant exercise in trust.

Billy was flustered but pushed through his emotions to lead his friends. He was pushed to the ground again when Jason spotted Tommy charging up to fire. They were getting used to her and her strange method of persecution. “Come on, we can’t do this any longer Tommy!” Jason shouted. “If you’re going to kill us do it!” He was taunting, goading her.

“If that’s what you want Scott, stop hiding and running!” She spat at them, angry that they suggested she was the one extending their encounter. She had convinced herself she wanted to go home, and had not developed an uncontrollable, unconscious desire to torture her enemies.

With help from each other, Jason, Billy and Kimberly stumbled to their feet. Jason’s knees ached, Billy’s arm throbbed, and Kimberly was covered in scraps and claws marks. They were all equally covered in dirt and twigs. They wore their suffering and perseverance on their faces and bodies. They weren’t consumed by despair though; they were _determined and furious_.

“Ready?” Jason asked Billy and Kimberly.

“Ready,” they answered in union.

“Ready to pay?” Tommy said.

“I’m sick of hearing her voice,” Kimberly spat.

Tommy sneered. “You won’t be hearing it for long.” And at that threat she fired a long power stream of emerald light and heat in their direction. Her full might was infused in the beam; her emotions must have affected her attack; it grew stronger and wider than ever. For as formidable her power was, _combined they were stronger_. Blue, red and pink stream of lasers fired out of the stone simultaneously like a rainbow ribbons – before converging on one another – distorting and amplifying the force and radiance of the lasers. They combined into one white stream that not only forced Tommy’s and her laser back but _obliterated it_ – slamming Tommy into a tree. She was knocked unconscious. The boys ran to her side.

As the light fade and the air settled, Billy saw Tommy’s body and feared the worse. He ran towards her. “Billy!” Kim and Jason said in unison, running behind him, afraid of what retaliation he could face.

“Is she okay?” He asked her punks.

“What do you care?” Colt spat out, blocking Billy’s view of Tommy. He was pissed but knew not be to violent with Billy, with Kimberly and Jason watching so close by.

“We have to get her to the hospital.” Billy ignored the cold shoulder he was receiving for defending himself. He didn’t want anyone dying because of him.

“She’s breathing,” Bulk said, lifting her up, with the help of skull. Unlike Colt, he wasn’t angry, he looked at Billy with sorrowful eyes. “Get out of here before she wakes up.”

“Think this will snap her out of that?” Skull asked. Tommy looked positively peaceful and serene unconscious in Bulk’s thick arms. To think such a beautiful girl would become possessed by the spirit of vengeance and armed with evil intentions.

 _“I don’t know,”_ Bulk said. With her unconscious they could take a break from unwavering loyalty and be true to themselves.

“I miss Tommy.”

_“I miss her too.”_

The three sad boys slowly carried Tommy away into the opposite direction. They must have been going off to find their car and go home. Our heroes were relieved to be able to do the same, they would head back to their hidden base, but it made more sense to go forward. Haggard from head to toe, the kids leaned their weight on one another as they limped out of the thicket of trees. They didn’t talk because they didn’t need to. Their deep breathing and hisses of pains said all that they needed to. They had survived through a harrowing ordeal. They were triumphant.

They didn’t have to walk long before they heard chatter and saw figures of people. Billy suspected they were the mine security, that had brought him into police custody before for trespassing, but he didn’t have the strength to warn his friends or runaway. Kimberly and Jason also didn’t seem to care about the danger. Whatever it was, they’d face it together and prevail.

“We keep hearing explosions, seeing flashing lights coming from this direction…” One of the voices said.

“I’m sure, it’s just the mine workers doing a little overtime…” Another voice said.

“It better not involve my baby!”

At hearing that familiar phrase, the infliction of frustration and caring, Billy recognized the voice. “Mom?”

“Did you hear that? Billy?” His mother asked excitedly, on the other side of the thicket.

“MOM!” Billy shouted louder, his voice cracking and his throat stinging.

“BILLY,” Mrs. Cranston shouted, taking off at breakneck speed down the path. She pushed the bushes out of her way and carved a way to her son. Zack had never seen Billy’s mom act like that. He was reminded of that fact Billy got his excitable nature from her (even if she normally masked it well). She burst into view, not slowing down to take her in surroundings at all. She just ran towards her son and Billy eased himself out of the support of his friend and limped to meant her halfway. When they reached each other, Candace enveloped in a firm embrace.

Billy winced and hissed. “Mom ease up please…you’re crushing me.”

“What?” She loosened her grip, and pulled away to take stock of the state he was in. The moonlight shined down on Billy, his skin was illuminated, and she was able to clearly see the begins of bruising, scrapes and poorly bandaged shoulder wound. “What happened to you?” Her voice trembled with worry.

“I’m…I’m…not ready to talk about it yet,” Billy admitted, pressing his forehead against his mothers. “Someday, but not now, not today.”

“William Cranston explain yourself!” She protested.

“I’ve made up mind mom,” Billy said stubbornly.

Candace Cranston’s eyes widen in disbelief and astonishment. She had never been spoken to like this, not by her son anyway. He was out of order. “You’re grounded!”

“Huh come on Mom, I have friends now,” Billy whined.

She finally took notice of Kimberly and Jason who were also mangled and badly beaten up. One look and she had branded them the source of Billy’s new reckless behavior. From one look in Jason’s guilt-ridden expression and the recollection of the rumors spread about that girl Kimberly Hart, she recognized what bad influences they were. “Well you won’t be going out with your friends for months!” She scolded him, yet even has she scolds him, she tends to his scrapes with a handkerchief from her pocket.

Billy sighed. He glanced back at Jason and Kimberly while he’s being tended to and they shared a knowing smile. They’re giving him permission to separate from them, to give into his mother’s coddling and are promising to keep their journey confidential. It was all in their eyes.

Zack and Mr. Scott made their presence known, walking over to the hugging family. “Look at you two, the family’s back together,” Zack gushed, relieved that Billy was safe and sound. He didn’t need to grieve again tonight.

“Oh, thank you for your help Zachary,” She said, pulling Zack over to her. She and Billy were still embraced and whispered warnings and promises to one another. He saw the damage done to the three of them and was able to piece together that it must have been the result of a scuffle with Tommy and her punks. He couldn’t imagine the extent though. It was out of his realm of imagination.

In examining the new kid and  Kimberly (who finally looks like the wreck of a person’s she’s rumored to be), he saw the stare down happening between Blondie and his father. They looked like past and future images of each other, with the same furious eyes and rebellious scowl – that older Scott was able to suppress and other hadn’t learned how to just yet – The eldest Scott stalked over to the youngest, Zack and Kimberly were on edge, expecting a grudge match or an angry standoff (they looked the typed to quarrel) not like Kimberly’s distant parents and Zack’s observant yet wonderful mom.

_But none of that happened._

Jason stiffened, waiting to be shouted at or rebuked but _he wasn’t_. Sam’s fury extinguished, when he saw the bruises on Jason’s arms from being manhandled and bullied by Tommy’s punks and the park of utter defiance in his eyes. He was prepared to defend himself and the decisions he had made tonight that lead him to this moment.

Sam wiped a smudge from Jason’s chin, and resting his hand on his shoulders. “What do you need us to do?” He asked. He didn’t insult, accuse or threatened his son, he just _asked_. “Because a kid died tonight Jason and when I thought it was you, I stopped breathing…I couldn’t imagine what I would have done... _your mother and I couldn’t cope Jason_ …”

Jason had no smart-ass response or rant for that, it was too honest, too real. “I’m sorry for worrying you and mom.”

Sam didn’t know what else to say. They hadn’t built up any dialogue of how to comfort each other. Not arguing was a nice start though. “ _Let’s go home_ ,” He breathed a sigh of relief.

Jason simply nodded his head and started to walk off behind his dad. He and everyone else walked off towards his father’s car, but almost simultaneously both he and Billy turned around to glance back at Kimberly and felt a pang of guilt. Both had had parents that had spent the night searching high and low for their missing kids, and her parents were nowhere to be found. It was heartbreaking. The two of them hung back a bit, giving her time to catch up with them. They were going home together – but still to different damaged homes. Some more than others. Kimberly won’t get the new home she’d hoped for. It was a child’s dream anyway, no better than wanting to runaway to the circus.

 

**Ride home.**

They couldn’t all fit comfortably into Mr. Scott’s car, so Billy and Jason convinced their parents to let them drive home in Jason’s truck, after dropping off Kimberly that is. They’d promised to be home just a few minutes after them. Even after promising that, Jason drove slow and _considerate_. He was trying to recover the atmosphere of comfort they had established before Tommy and her gang intervened.

“I didn’t expect that…” He said, hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

“Our night of terror?” Billy asked, still aching right beside him.

“Nah, he didn’t expect his daddy to come looking for him,” Kimberly interjected, smooshed beside Billy. “And he’s feeling sorry for me because mine didn’t bother…”

“They probably assume you’re with friends…” Billy said thoughtfully. “You’re out a lot and you always come home.”

“It’s probably all over the town that Ty Fleming died tonight, my ex-boyfriend and partner in crime. I’m sure they’ve heard. It’s two in the morning, their daughter isn’t home yet and they’re sleeping fine,” She groaned as she stared out the window.

“It’s a good thing we’re here now…” Billy said, smiling down on her.

“Huh?” Kimberly asked, confused.

“Good thing you don’t need them anymore,” Jason clarified.

“I don’t do I?” Kimberly asked, a smile on her face as she’s look at fondly by her new friends, her new family.

“Nope.”

They chuckled softly for a minute or two. That sparkle between the three of them hadn’t disappeared or fizzled. It had been right there all along.

“Stop the car!” Kim shouted suddenly.

Jason hit the brakes, coming into a stop in front of a section of houses in the ‘bad’ part of town. This wasn’t Kimberly’s place. It was nowhere near her mini mansion of a house. “What was that about?”

“Drop me off here, go on without me, I’ll make my way home.”

“Where are you doing?”

She pointed over to a little house with a badly kept yard. “I’m going to visit Amanda.”

“Are you a masochist?” Jason asked. “She hates you.”

“And she has every right to,” Kimberly said, stepping out of the car. “But I think we can help each other…to heal…”

“If this is what you need,” Billy interjected.

“See you early Monday morning?” Kimberly asked.

“huh?” Jason missed something.

“You’re driving us to school, right?”

“You bet!”

 

Jason and Billy allowed Kimberly to step out of the truck and walk down the pavement to Amanda’s house. They wouldn’t leave unless she was allowed in. They could see the nervousness in her posture, but she still made it to the door and knocked. Surprisingly Rebecca opened the door, she saw Kimberly groaned and moved to slam the door in her face. Kimberly stuck her foot in the door.

“What do you want?” Rebecca asked, her face tear-stained. “Here to gloat? _You’re sick_.”

“I’m here to say sorry, _I never said sorry_ ,” Kimberly said.

“Too late, we don’t need that.” She attempted to close the door again, but Kimberly was adamant that she wouldn’t leave. She leaned her head in and spoke loud enough that Amanda could hear from wherever she was. She suspected she was nearby.

“I also came here because I think you’re the only one who understands how I feel. I loved him too, before and long after. He was the biggest asshole in Angel Grove and the most loyal friend and boyfriend anyone can ask for. He didn’t have to race, but he would have anyway. I hate him for leaving us and I miss him. And I know only you know why…” She cried through the crack in the door. It was just a guess that Amanda was nearby she didn’t know for sure, but Rebecca only had courage in _her_ presence.

“That’s enough!” Rebecca snapped, protectively standing in the way of the crack in the door. “I suggest you go home.”

Kimberly bit back her pride and turned around, walking away. She tried and that was all that mattered. It would have been, if the door hadn’t roughly swung open. Kimberly turned back around to seeing a disheveled Amanda standing in front of the door, her face was stained black with running mascara and she hadn’t managed to even change out of the outfit she’d worn to the chickee run. She’d only seen her this devastated once, and she’d been at the center of that too.

“You have no right!” Amanda yelled at Kimberly, her voice breaking midway. It was hoarse from crying.

“I know,” was all Kimberly would say. She didn’t turn her eyes away from Amanda, she just stared back, and faced the judgement she had longed for but was too scared to face before.

“This doesn’t mean I forgive you.”

“I understand that.”

Amanda took a deep breath and turned her back to Kimberly, “Come in…we’re looking at pictures of him. You’re in some of them.”

Rebecca was left in shock and awe as Kimberly was given permission to enter the house. She was forced to step aside to let her in. Kimberly waved to Jason and Billy, giving them the go ahead to leave. A small smile was on her lips, and it set her friends at ease to see her smile so freely. They waved back and drove off, hoping Kimberly got the closure she needed.

 

Dropping Billy off was the last item on Jason’s list before he had to return home and face his makers. Stepping out of the truck with Billy was the hardest thing he’d had to do all night. A part of him wanted to crawl into bed with Billy and hold him all night. He doubted Billy, or Mrs. Cranston would be happy about that arrangement, so he settled for a heartfelt goodbye. He didn’t realize he wasn’t the only one struggling to say goodbye.

“Jason let’s go somewhere…” Billy proposed, desperate and vulnerable in a way that made Jason lean against his truck to stay on his feet.

“Go where Billy?” He sighed. Billy was saying all the words he wanted to hear but he wasn’t prepared to hear. Words he couldn’t act on right this second.

“I don’t know, back to the mines,” His eyes are glazed over and he fidgeted about. He was finding it hard to calm down after what they experienced. “We can talk all night and be home in the morning for breakfast…I have a waffle maker and –”

“ _Billy your mom_. I don’t want her to hate me.”

“ _She’ll get over it_.”

Jason had to bite his lip not to crack a smile at Billy’s persistence. He pulled Billy towards him, slowly and cautiously. The nervous energy beamed off Billy in waves. “Billy we’re already here and it’s gonna be morning in a bit…” He kept his arm lazily slung around Billy’s waist. “What are you afraid of?”

The softness of Jason’s voice and the consideration, lowered Billy’s defenses. He breathed a little easier when Jason’s hand began to run up and down his back, to sooth his nerves. “I’m afraid that…that the next time you see me…you’d have forgotten all about what happened…all about us.” By ‘us’ Billy could have meant forget about him and Kimberly, but Jason had long decided ‘us’ meant their undefined relationship. _Together_ , seeming the only fitting word.

“I won’t,” Jason straightened up so he could be as close to eye level with Billy as possible. He detested the few inches of differences in their height. “I would never and could never forget about the day I met Billy Cranston... _the sweetest fella on earth._..”

“Aw shucks…” Billy grinned through his blush. “If you say so…”

“ _Come ‘ere_ ,” In one fell swoop Billy was pressed flush against Jason. “Now give us a kiss.” He said those cheesy words with the confidence of a film star reading lines that were written by an award-winning screenwriter. He probably stole it from a movie.

Billy chuckled and leaned in, and Jason met him halfway, closing the distance between their lips. Its was sweet and clumsy, Billy had no idea how wide to open his mouth or how to angle his face. The more experienced of the two had to take over, tilting his face so their noses weren’t smashed together. One arm was around Billy’s waist and the other at the back of his head, _urging him on_. He was eager, willing and quick learner. Jason was Jason, as gentle and patient as Billy needed him to be.

The kiss they shared was as breathing taking as diving off a cliff into a volcano pool. One is more terrified than the other, but there is an undeniable trust. And it’s a rush of cold water on warm skin; spine tingling and toe curling.

“Billy is that you?” Mrs. Cranston called Billy; she has a flashlight shining in the direction of garage. “It’s time to come in, you’ve had enough time to spend with your friends.”

Jason quickly dropped his hands to his side and backed away from Billy. The flustered expression on Billy’s face, and fidgety movements made it hard for Jason to look _innocent and unassuming_. His smirk was evident and _boastful_. He did that to someone, made them unravel. “I’ll see you tomorrow, we’ll catch a cowboy movie… _partner_.” Jason said.

“He’s hurt and _grounded_.” Candace pointed the flashlight right in Jason’s face. She saw his triumphant smirk and swagger. She let go of her robe and snatched Billy’s hand. “He’ll see you _Monday in school_!”

While he’s being dragged away Billy turned away and waved. His smile was goofy, and love-struck, Jason had to bite his lip to maintain his cool. He gave him a quick sendoff, waiting until Billy was out of view before he settled into his car. When inside the car, he’s _grinning uncontrollably_ , and burying his face into his hand. “I feel like I’ve been to the moon…”

Jason drove home to the Scott house. His mother met him at the steps of their house, she wrapped her arms around him and held him for a long time before sending him to bed. “We’ll talk in the morning,” She promised. But right then, they needed to sleep with the peace that came with knowing all their own was _safe_ and _nearby_.

 

As promised Jason wasn’t allowed to see Billy over the weekend. He snuck out of the house early in the morning before his parents could wake up and he was grounded or something. He had every intention of picking Billy up and taking him out for breakfast at Ernie’s diner and juice bar, and a movie later that day but it was Mrs. Cranston who answered the door. Apparently, she had called a doctor, and he was making a house call when Jason had interrupted. Mrs. Cranston was a little snippy with him, but he could see she was forcing herself to be, to protect her son from his _‘corrupting’_ influence. He didn’t blame her, but he moped about all morning. He dropped by Kimberly’s house to see if she would want to hang out too, but no one was home, he suspected he was still by Amanda’s house _mourning_. He didn’t want to interrupt that.

Being home forced him into spirited and tearful discussions with both his parents. Their kitchen table was a war zone and confessional booth in one. Their problems weren’t all solved in one day, but the airing of mutual missteps and transgressions and promises to just do better was a big improvement. It was a start.

 

 **Monday morning** was long awaited, and when it arrived Jason ready for school quite early, kissed his mom and sister, hugged his dad and bolted through the door. You’d think he was trying out for track that very morning, he ran like his knees didn’t hurt. He dashed to Ernie’s diner to pick up a fresh batch of his famous crispy creamy donuts that were being advertised in the morning paper and went around to full fill his promise and pick up Kimberly and _Billy_.

Since she lived the closest, he picked up Kimberly first. She was already waiting outside her house for him. When she saw him approach, she stomps out her cigarette on the side of the pavement and waved him over. Yes, she’s smoking a cigarette at 8:15 in the morning in front of her house for whomever to see. She’s still Kimberly Ann Hart and she hasn’t quite broken out of her bad girl persona yet.

“Morning,” Jason greeted.

“ _You’re early_ ,” Kimberly smiled as she hopped in the passenger seat of his truck.

“I made a promise; _I keep my promises.”_

_“Cranston isn’t around, you don’t have to try so darn hard.”_

Jason’s face heated up when she said that. Was it so obvious? “I’ll have you know –

“Know what? You’re smitten, _kitten_ ,” She had already swiped a donut before he could offer her one.

He couldn’t deny that, so he changed the subject. “What’s the plan for today?”

“I say we play hooky…”

“I’m sure Billy wouldn’t like that…”

“Don’t underestimate our boy…”

“I’ll suggest it,” Jason said, he turned on the radio to fill the empty space with noise. He wanted to ask Kimberly about her night with Amanda; if they had resolved all that was between them but seeing her in good spirits – (chomping away at the donuts and bopping her head to a Duke Ellington song on this obscure radio station ran by an Angel Grove High School) – he decided to leave her be until she was ready to talk. He didn’t exactly want to talk about his home life and all that jazz on this fine morning either.

Arriving at Billy’s house, Jason blew the horn on his car. And within a few seconds, Billy was barreling out of his house, a slice of toast in his mouth and wearing two different colored socks. The normal person wouldn’t have noticed the mismatched sock so quickly, but Jason had a keen eye for all things Billy Cranston.

Candace came running out the house after him, her robe wrapped tightly around her figure and with curlers in her hair. “You’re forgetting your lunch honey!”

“Mom! Not in front of my friends!” He whined.

“Oh please,” She pushed the large brown paper bag into his hand and kissed his cheek. She lingered longer than she needed to.

Jason and Kimberly laughed, ushering him into the truck. Billy sat in the space between them, squeezed into the passenger seat with Kimberly. As they were about to take off Jason locked eyes with Mrs. Candace Cranston, she had her hands on her hips and her eyes were narrowed. Jason had wondered where he had gone wrong this time. What had he done to gain her disapproval?

Billy leaned over and whispered in his ear. “You didn’t say _good morning_.”

“Oh,” He could have smacked himself in the head. How could he have committed such a faux pas. “Good morning Mrs. Cranston,” He finally greeted her.

“Good morning to you too, Jason Scott. _I wondered if you had been taught manners_.”

“We should be on our way…” He awkwardly announced. “Bring him home later too.”

She leaned over the window and straightened the tie he’d lazily put on this morning. He had hoped if he looked well-dressed his parents would easier believe he was on the path to redemption if he looked like a gentleman and not a scruffy beatnik. It had worked on his mother and it appeared to be working Mrs. Cranston too. Her expression softened. “Don’t you dare speed with my boy in this junk heap,” She warned with a smile that hints of danger.  

Jason couldn’t promise that, he would speed when he needed to, wanted to and he was sure Billy would beg him to at times. So, he promised what he could. “I won’t hurt him,” he whispered for her ears only. “And if I managed to somehow…I’ll always make it right.” He could only hope she felt his sincerity.

She nodded her head slowly and patted the truck. Her smile was softer now. “Don’t be late,” she sighed.

“ _Bye mom!_ ”

“ _Bye Mrs. C!_ ”

With a wave and they drove out of the driveway and down the street, faster than Mrs. Cranston would have liked. When the Cranston house was no longer in sight, Billy leaned over the dashboard and spread out a map. “We’re skipping homeroom and first period,” He said.

“We’re what? Why?” Jason asked, shocked.

Kimberly giggled. She loved being right.

“You, Kimberly and I, have history together, none of us will grow up to be historians,” Billy said, nonchalantly, pulling out a red marker to write on the map. “We’ve got work to do in the mines…”

“I can’t believe this,” Jason said.

“Why? Are you afraid of getting in trouble?” Billy asked.

Jason scoffed. “No but I thought you would be.”

“I’m already in trouble,” Billy tore his eyes away from the map. “You saw what happened that night, either we find the power in those mountains or someone else…like Tommy,” He shivered. “ _Or worse_ , finds them and terrorizes Angel Grove.”

“What do you have plan?” Jason asked, realizing Billy now would be their guide and he had little say in their destination.

“Every morning, lunch, after school and weekends, we’ll explore the mines and excavate for more artifacts like these…” He held up his blue stone or coin as Tommy called it to make a point.

Kimberly whistled. “That’s a lot of time spent digging Billy boy.”

“Have anything better to do?”

Kimberly’s eyes widened in surprise and Jason snorted. He knew Billy was just being bluntly honest and hadn’t meant to ask such armor piercing question in such a crude way. What he meant was there was nothing she could be doing that was more important than them joining efforts to uncover an esoteric mystery.

“You really know how to win a girl over Cranston,” Kimberly caved to his suggestion. He was right, they were her best bet. She had somehow repaired her relationship with Amanda or was at least working at it. But she’d need a miracle to find friends better than these boys.

“I could use more convincing,” Jason smirked at an oblivious Billy. “But I guess we’ll work out an arrange _alone_ , won’t we Billy?”

“Kimberly already knows about the ship. Why do we need to be alone?” Billy didn’t quite catch his drift.

“Yeah, why do you need to be alone?” Kimberly asked, stomping all over his attempt at subtle seduction. He stuck out his tongue at her. “Keep your eyes on the road, will you!”

“Is that Zack?” Billy asked, gesturing to the sidewalk. There Zack trailed behind a short dolly, he was obviously flirting with her and she was ignoring him. She’s odd in the way she’s wearing jean capris, and a yellow cashmere sweater. Had she also been wearing a leather jacket Kimberly would have assumed she was a part of Tommy’s punks. The disinterested and annoyed look on her face was very fitting for a lady punk but Kim didn’t recognize her, and she doubt she’d forget a face like that. She was gorgeous, her eyes had a mystery that drew Kimberly in.

“We’ve got to save that girl,” Jason said, steering in the direction of the sidewalk.

“Stay focused Jason,” Billy interrupted. “Zack’s relatively harmless.”

“We’ll get going in a minute.”

Billy pouted. They were getting behind schedule. Jason found it cute how spoiled he’d become.

You took the words out my mouth, Kimberly wanted to say but instead she teased, “Didn’t you learn your lesson prince charming?”

“That if I help strangers, I make friends? That’s how we met.” He said, smiling.

Kimberly rolled her eyes to seem disinterested, but when Jason pulled over to the two students, she lit up. “Zack –  

“Take a hike Taylor,” Kimberly interrupted, leaning over Jason to look out the window at cute chickee. “She has a ride…” Kimberly’s voice clearly caught the girl off guard, she stopped in her tracks.

“Stay out of this hart!” Zack stuck out his tongue. “Me, and Dee Dee here are getting to know each other.”

“For the last time my name isn’t Dee Dee!” Mystery girl shouted, looking about ready to slap Zack in his face.

“What’s –

“What’s your name then?” Kimberly once again interrupted Jason, forcing him and Billy into the periphery while she controlled this interaction. She had a hidden agenda in getting to know her, so hidden she didn’t know herself.

“You don’t know?” The girl asked, directing her anger away from Zack, towards Kimberly.

“We just met. You’re new here right?”

“I’ve lived in Angel Grove for a year and we have _chemistry_ together…”

“Apparently not,” Jason murmured, slipping in a subtle jab.

Kimberly swallowed guilty and cleared her throat. “Even more reason to let us take you to school, we can finally be introduced properly…”

The mystery girl forced a smile. “Sorry, but I’m not going to school.”

“What a coincidence, neither are we,” Kimberly said, it sounded like a chat up line Zack would use.

“Where are you going?” Jason said finally getting a word in.

“Jason,” Billy whined, “We’ve got plans!”

“Just a minute Billy!”

“Looking for a bus to take me out of town…to the ooky spooky mines,” She smirked, trying to dissuade the nosy pushy bunch from bothering her anymore. Any normal guy or gal would have written her off as kooky, but she happened to be in the presence of very open minded people. “ _Doubt you’re interested_.”

“You’d be surprise,” Kim said. Grins spread across all their faces, even Billy’s. They were protective of their treasure, but they weren’t territorial. She didn’t seem as out of her gourd like Tommy and she seemed to be looking for her place in Angel Grove. A place to belong. People to belong with.

“No buses take you close enough to the mines,” Billy informed, he knew from experience. “I usually bike there.”

Zack was hopping on board the bed of the truck before he had been given any permission. “Lead the way my good man!”

“What the hell Taylor!” Jason shouted, feeling his added weight jiggly the truck.

“I go where the lady goes,” Zack said, putting out a hand for her to climb up. “I’d follow you to the ends of the earth.”

Mystery girl denied his hand but does climb up on her own. “Fine take me there but stay out of my way.”

“You’re welcome,” Kimberly sassed, looking through the rear window at her. “What’s your name? I may have missed it during roll call.”

Trini rolled her eyes. “It’s Trini…”

“Short for Trinity?”

“What is it to you?”

“OOOH,” Zack sang. “Retract those claws kitties…”

Jason started the car. Billy was happy to be on his way. “What brings you to the mine Trini?” He asked.

Her face softened, and there was pause before she shared her feelings. “I’m not sure…I may sound crazy but a queer sound has been calling me into the mines for days now….and this yellow light shines from the peak of the mountains, right into my bedroom window.”

“You hear the sound too?” Zack asked. “I heard it that night, and every night since.”

Jason and Kimberly glanced at each other. Luring sound and lights were a common feat for them now a days. Billy started happily clapping, his smile spreading from one ear to the other. “Wahoo!” Something life changing was about to happen. He just knew it.

 

If only he knew there would be a intergalactic Witch waiting for them. A Witch ready to seek revenge for defeating her chosen champion and coveting her precious gems. She had killed for them before and she’s willing to do it again. " _Beware Power Rangers!_ "  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best work. Sorry for the lateness. I just started several new hobbies. I haven't re-edited the whole series yet but will soon!


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